Boy next door
by KSD17
Summary: AU story. Zoe moves to Bluebell at age 16 after she finds out Harley is her real father. Wade is her next door neighbor.
1. Chapter 1

She was having a good dream. A really good dream. She was graduating from med school at the top of her class, everyone was envious and her dad was standing in the front row, clapping louder than anyone else. Ethan Hart had never looked prouder as she stood on stage giving her speech. _Thump._ She woke up on the floor of her bedroom. She looked outside and saw trees, confused for a moment because you couldn't see trees from the penthouse. Then it hit her. She was no longer in New York. She was in Bluebell. Alabama. Yuck. She threw her head back, knocking it on her night stand when she realized that her dream was just that. A dream. Ethan Hart would never look at her with such pride because Ethan Hart was not her father.

She had found out a few days before her 16th birthday. Her mother shipped her off after deciding that her marriage could only be salvaged if a constant reminder of her pre-wedding dalliance wasn't living in the room next door. So here she was; a week later living with some old guy who was supposedly her father. Great. To make matters worse, there was some horrible rock music coming from what she could only assume was her next door neighbors' house. She pulled herself off the floor and made her way to her bedroom window. She could see the culprit. He couldn't have been much older than her and was dancing around his room, shirtless, holding a guitar without a care in the world that it was only... 11am. Ok so she didn't realize that it was so late in the morning but still. She had been having a really good dream and HIS music woke her and brought her crashing back to reality.

He looked out the window and caught her eye. He gave her a nod and she could make out a smirk on his smug face. She flipped him the bird, turned around and huffed downstairs. Harley Wilkes, her _real_ father was sitting at a desk in the living room reading over some files when she stomped downstairs muttering to herself.

"Good morning, Zoe. I was hoping you would be up a little earlier. Brick was kind enough to agree to take over the practice until you had woken and was ready for the day but as it is almost midday, I really should get going. Help yourself to breakfast or lunch or anything. My office number is on the fridge if you need it. I do apologize for running out on you like this on your first morning here."

"It's ok Harley. I guess I'll just explore the town or something."

"Wonderful, maybe you can make your way to the Rammer Jammer; it is the local hangout for teens during the summer. If you walk to the end of the road, turn right and take the 3rd left and you'll see the sign." Zoe gave him a half hearted smile and he gathered his things and left, mentioning that she could leave the door unlocked when she left.

After having a small breakfast and 3 cups of coffee, Zoe got ready to head to the Rammer Jammer or whatever it was called. For a town that seemed so quaint, having a place with such an obviously sexual sounding name was odd to her. She'd have to find out where the name came from. Looking through her clothes, she doubted anything she owned would be usual attire of the residents around here. Her flight had landed pretty late the night before and she had only seen one person as she and Harley were driving into town and she did not own anything as yellow, as floral or as long as what the woman was wearing. Settling with a pair of denim shorts and a pink halter top, she applied lip gloss and mascara before heading out the door.

She looked over to the house where the annoying boy with his stupid guitar lived and noticed it was more run down than the other house on the street. She wondered why that was and was lost in thought as she walked down the sidewalk towards the end of the street. Suddenly, she walked into something solid and was on the ground. Zoning out of her thoughts, she saw what she had walked into, or rather who. There he was, her annoying neighbor, also lying on the ground, rubbing his lower back.

"What the hell! Watch where you going!" he yelled.

"Me? What about you? If you had been watching where you were walking, you could have avoided me!" she yelled back.

"Well, obviously you weren't payin' attention cause I was not moving!"

"Oh cause that's so much better! Why are you standing in the middle of the sidewalk? People are walking here!"

"Are you always this infuriatin'? Why can't you just admit you were wrong and apologize?" he said getting up and holding a hand out to help her up.

She reluctantly took his hand and while getting up said, "Sorry if I was half asleep, some idiot woke me this morning playing what he would probably call music".

He scowled at her after she made that comment but chose to ignore it, "I'm Wade. Wade Kinsella. Looks as if we're gonna be neighbors. You Dr Wilkes' daughter? The whole town's been talking 'bout you for a week now!" She knew he was trying to be friendly but she was embarrassed that she had walked into him, irritated that the whole town was gossiping about her and tired even though she had slept for 12 hours the night before. This past week had been emotionally draining and she did not need some stupid boy, no matter how handsome he was, trying to be her friend. She rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Hey Princess, that's not very neighborly! I'm tryna be nice!" he called to her as he jogged slowly to catch up to her. She may be short but she walked damn fast. Although, if Wade was being honest with himself, he was enjoying the view as she swung her hips from side to side. He grabbed her wrist to try stop her but she snatched her hand back.

"Look Cowboy, I don't need you trying to be nice just cause you feel sorry for me cause I'm the illegitimate daughter of the town doctor. I just want to go to the Rammer Jammer and see what the fuss is about. Now if you'll excuse me. Have a nice life." He didn't stop walking and swung his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged him off and he laughed.

"Cowboy? I like that. But I definitely ain't tryna be nice cause I feel sorry for you. I'm being nice cause we here in Bluebell are nice to our neighbors. We all got problems."

"Then pray tell, why are you still walking with me?" she asked looking up to him. He was quite a bit taller than her, even if she was wearing heels. She may be dressed more casual than what she normally wear but she never goes anywhere without heels.

"Well, it just so happens I am headed the Jammer myself." She scoffed and he smirked.

"Zoe," she said a while later. He looked at her; she had been quiet for some time, "That's my name. Zoe Hart. Now that you know my name, can you please tell me why the local hang out for teens is named the Rammer Jammer? That doesn't sound very appropriate!"

Wade burst out laughing. Zoe noticed that he had a nice laugh. "It's not sexual! It's an Alabama University football reference. Although, it's nice to know where your head's at girl!" he winked at her. Zoe felt herself blush and shoved him lightly, only making him laugh harder.

"Princess, I think we are gonna be good friends!" he said as he swung his arm over her shoulders again, this time she didn't shrug him off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I know that Zoe's birthday is in October in the show but I wanted her to arrive in Summer and I had mentioned it was just before she arrived in the previous chapter. I have the next chapter written and will upload it later today. If anyone has ideas for how Bluebell would celebrate 4th of July, feel free to message me and let know your ideas and I might incorporate them. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Walking towards the Rammer Jammer, Zoe was surprised to see that it was nothing but a bar. She stopped in her tracks before they entered. Wade turned and looked at her, confused.

"Uh… Are you sure we are allowed in there? It's a bar and we aren't 21?" she asked in a panicked voice. Wade rolled his eyes.

"Relax, this is Bluebell. This is the only place to hang out unless you count the Butterstick but I don' think Agnes would be too happy with a hoard of teens swarming her small establishment. We ain't gonna be drinking. Just come on." Zoe looked at him like he had 3 heads but followed nonetheless. Wade made his way through the restaurant towards a table where a blonde girl and two guys were seated, greeting other teens sat at different tables as he went along. Zoe could tell that he was popular and she noticed many of the girls stared a little too long as he walked past them. She stayed hovering in the doorway, unsure if she should follow him or if he expected her to go her own way and make friends herself. She got her answer when he made his way back to the door, grabbed her hand and maneuvered through the tables. The girls who had stared at him when he first walked in were now glaring at her.

"Guys. This is Zoe, Dr Wilkes'daughter. Zoe, this is Lemon, George and Lavon," he said motioning to the 3 people at the table. They greeted her warmly as Wade pulled up a chair for her. They ordered lunch and Zoe was quiet during the meal. She was observing her surroundings and their interaction but answered questions that were posed to her and tried to keep up with the conversation. It was clear that they had all been friends for a very long time and knew each other well. Another thing she noticed was that George and Lavon both seemed besotted with Lemon but she was oblivious to their affections. The friends laughed and joked around, Wade often being the center of attention. She couldn't help but think how different this place was to New York. Her friends in New York would never sit around eating burgers and drinking milkshakes. They would be too worried about the amount of calories and what the boys around them would think. She was snapped out of her daze when Wade stole a fry from her plate.

"Hey! Get your own!" she said while trying to grab the fry. She was giggling as he held it out of her reach with a smirk on his face. Lemon, George, Lavon and every other girl in the bar was watching this exchange. After a few minutes of this, Zoe finally gave up and Wade shoved the fry, along with a few more he stole from her plate into his mouth. He gave her a victorious smile.

"I knew I'd win" he said with his mouth full of food. Zoe gave him a disgusted look.

"Say it, don't spray it Kinsella!" she said as she wiped the front of her shirt causing Lemon, Lavon and George to burst out laughing. Wade wasn't fazed and joined in with their laughter after he'd swallowed. Zoe soon discovered that Brick, Harley's partner at the practice, was Lemon's dad. Zoe knew they would never be friends in New York but she wasn't in New York anymore so she wasn't about to push anyone away who was willing to be her friend. It was quite a change from what she had been thinking when she met Wade. She wasn't sure why she had been so mean to him when they first met but she was glad he hadn't let her get away with it. So far, this was one of the best days she's ever had. Maybe Bluebell wouldn't be so bad after all.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the 5 of them laughing, Zoe finally feeling comfortable enough to join in the conversations. They were telling her stories from when they were growing up, including one about the day Jimmy Praboo put itching powder into George's jock strap. That story in particular, or rather the way Wade had told it, had Zoe laughing so hard, her sides hurt all while George cringed at the memory. Wade always made sure Zoe felt included and if there was a reference she wouldn't understand, he would explain it to her before the story continued, whether it was him or someone else telling it.

A few hours later, Lemon dragged Zoe off to the bathroom for some girl talk. While Zoe was reapplying her lip gloss, Lemon asked what was going on with her and Wade. She had just laughed and said they had just met and were neighbors and he was just "bein' neighborly" as he had said earlier. Lemon tried to disagree but Zoe quickly changed the topic by asking what was happening with Lavon and George.

"It's so complicated. I really really like George. He is the perfect gentleman but Lavon is so… passionate! I know they both like me but I can't decide so I am just pretending that I know nothing until I make up my mind."

"That doesn't sound like the best idea Lemon, it seems as if one of them is going to get hurt."

"I know but it's so hard! They are both such great guys. Maybe you can take one of them off my hands? That will make life so much easier!"

"Ha ha, very funny. Besides, even if I agreed to your ridiculous solution, which one would you give me?"

"Um…"

"Exactly. You gotta work it out before they get too invested. Let's get back, I should be heading home anyway," Zoe said. The girls headed back to the table, Lemon with her arms folded with a disgruntled look on her face. When they got there, there was a girl sitting in the seat Zoe had been occupying. She had one hand one Wade's arm and the other on his leg. Zoe caught the end of what the girl, who had way too much cleavage she noticed, was saying.

"Come on Wade. You were so keen last week."

"Sorry Joelle, not tonight. I got some stuff I gotta do." George and Lavon were watching them intently. Both were confused, Wade never turned down Joelle Sugarbaker. When Zoe and Lemon got back to the table, Wade sat up straight and brushed Joelle's hand off his leg, making her get up and storm off.

"Uh… were we interrupting something?" Zoe asked tentatively. George and Lavon narrowed their eyes suspiciously at Wade. Surely he couldn't be interested in Zoe. She wasn't exactly his type. The girls that caught his interest weren't smart, they were always tall and busty and hardly ever brunette.

"No no, that was nothin'" Wade said quickly.

"Ok, well I better get going. It's getting kinda late and I don't want Harley worrying about me on my first day here," Zoe said with a smile, reaching into her purse to pull out money to pay for her meal. Wade stilled her hand as he stood up, pulling his wallet out of the back pocket of his worn out jeans.

"I'll come with you. Don' want you getting lost or nothin'. 'Sides, we're heading in the same direction. I got this," he said putting money on the table. Zoe went to protest but he held his hand up, "Don' worry about it." Zoe smiled at him and said goodbye to the others. George and Lavon exchanged looks. Wade had certainly never paid for a girl before, no matter how tall, busty or willing they were. Suspicious indeed.

Zoe and Wade strolled back to their houses, chatting every now and then but enjoying the comfortable silence. Even though she only lived next door, Wade walked her to her door which Zoe appreciated. Standing facing each other on the porch, the silence got awkward.

"Well… uh… thank you for today. I had a really good time," Zoe started. Wade half smirked at her, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. Zoe wondered briefly if that was a nervous habit but the thought was quickly pushed out of her mind when he spoke.

"You're welcome, Princess," he teased.

"I… uh… I'm sorry about being so rude this morning. I don't know what got into me. I guess I was still upset that I had to be here instead of New York." He smiled at her and took a small step forward. Her stomach tightened as she wondered for a moment if he was going to kiss her.

"Well," he exclaimed enthusiastically while clapping his hands together once, knocking the butterflies right out of her stomach, "I best get to bed. Night Princess." With that, he jumped off the porch and hopped over the fence. Zoe stood there until he went into his house, confused by what just happened. She went inside to find Harley sitting on the couch, reading.

"Oh Zoe, I was wondering when you'd be home. I was just about to make dinner."

"You weren't worried about where I was or who I was with?"

"No, you're in Bluebell. There isn't much trouble you can get into. Did you make any friends?"

"Yeah, I went to the Rammer Jammer and on the way I met Wade. He introduced me to Lemon, George and Lavon. I had a really good day."

"I'm glad. Just watch out for Wade Kinsella. He has quite the reputation around here; I don't want you getting hurt."

"Wh… What? No, uh… Wade is just a friend. No need to worry," Zoe said awkwardly. Harley gave her a knowing smile.

"I'm not really hungry so I'm just going to go upstairs. Night Harley."

Zoe showered and got ready for bed. Her room had a bay window with soft pillows lining it so she grabbed one of the medical journals she had taken from her dad's, well Ethan's, study and settled against the wall and started reading. She could see Wade's bedroom light on but he was not in his room. There were only a few feet between their windows, something she was not used to. In New York, you could live next door to someone and never even meet them and here she was able to see exactly what posters he had on his bedroom wall.

A few minutes later, she could hear yelling, definitely an argument and it was coming from Wade's house. She saw the figure of man stumble out of front door holding what looked like a bottle but she couldn't really see much of the front of his house from where she was sitting. Next thing, Wade stormed into his room and slammed his door. He looked out the window and saw Zoe staring at him from the spot she was sitting. She lifted her hand into a wave but he didn't wave back. He walked over to the window, roughly pulling the curtains shut and a few seconds later, Zoe could tell he had turned the light off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: I've been crazy inspired today and I've already written the 4th chapter and am about to start the next one. Hopefully the inspiration continues. I love quick updates when I read HOD stories so I will try be speedy. The 4th chapter will be up tonight before I go to bed. Happy reading. **

Wade's curtains stayed shut for 3 days and Zoe had not seen him since that night. She tried to ask Harley about Wade's family but Harley said it wasn't his place to say anything. She felt bad that he had caught her staring at him through the window but it was only because they were friends. Yes, they had only met earlier that day but she knew they could and would be close. They got on really well and while she will admit that she felt something when she thought he was going to kiss her, that didn't matter. All she knew is that she wanted her friend back. On the third day, Zoe made her way to the Rammer Jammer, hoping to see him. Instead, she ran into Lemon and George. Lavon was nowhere to be seen luckily because when she happened upon them in a booth, they looked pretty cozy.

"Hey guys," Zoe said, deflated. Lemon and George moved a little bit further away from each other as she sat down. "Have either of you seen Wade lately?"

"Yeah, you just missed him actually. Left here about 10 minutes ago," George said. Zoe sighed.

"Did he seem upset? Did he say anything about me?"

"My my, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you, Miss Hart, have a little crush on him! Lord knows you wouldn't be the first one to fall under his spell in a matter of hours," Lemon said. Zoe looked at her, her eyebrows furrowing.

"No, it's not like that. After we left the Rammer Jammer the other night, I overheard him and his dad having an argument and he caught me. I wasn't eavesdropping or anything but you know, our houses are so close together and he looked so mad when he saw me. I haven't seen him since!" Lemon and George looked at their newest friend. She showed all her emotions in those big brown eyes and she looked utterly distraught. Lemon reached over and put her hand on her arm, comforting her.

"I'm not so sure we should be telling you this but Wade doesn't have the easiest life. His mom died when he was young and he bore the brunt of it. His brother left as soon as he finished high school, leaving Wade to look after his dad. His dad is the town drunk and Wade tries real hard to get him right. He puts on this devil don't care attitude but deep down, he struggles. He is probably embarrassed that you had to witness that. You're the first person in a long time to not know his family situation and it was probably refreshing for him; having someone look at him and not pity him." George nodded along as Lemon spoke.

"That's why he is so um, how do I say this without it sounding bad, um open to enjoying the company of young women. It gives him a few hours to escape the situation at home, which he can't control. He can control what he does with the all too willing line of girls and he doesn't have to think about what's happening at home."

Lemon added, "I mean, I am not blind, I can see why the girls are interested in him. He really is gorgeous." George looked at her, pulling a face, Lemon brushed him off. "I am allowed to say he is good looking, everyone knows it. I just wish he wouldn't do as much as he does with all of them. The last thing he needs on his plate is an accidental pregnancy." Zoe couldn't sit there and listen to them talk anymore. She needed to find Wade and apologize. She wished they hadn't had told her anything, she felt that if he wanted her to know, he would tell her in his own time. She would not pity him just like he did not pity her for being given up by her so-called family back in New York. Like he said, everyone has problems. She thanked them and left trying to think of how to find Wade. She didn't know her way around town, only knowing her way to the Rammer Jammer and back. She figured he would open his curtains when he was ready to face her and when he did, she would be waiting.

It had now been 5 days since the incident. It was the first of the month and the town was getting ready for the 4th of July celebrations. It would be Zoe's first town event and Harley was really excited. He spoke so highly of the town and she was looking forward to see what this town had in store for that night. If it was anything like what she had heard about Planksgiving, it was going to be interesting. They had gone to dinner at Fancies, the other restaurant in town. Just as her and Harley were walking back, she heard someone yelling. She looked up and saw a man standing at the top of the hardware store yelling something about it being goodbye. She looked at Harley in a panic and she heard him sigh. She was confused. He was meant to be the town doctor, what kind of a doctor would sigh at the sight of a man threatening to commit suicide?

Soon, the townspeople started gathering around and she recognized a few people that she had seen around town. No one was doing anything.

"Harley, are we not going to do anything?" The man kept yelling about how he was going to jump. Harley placed his arm on her shoulder.

"It's time to go home, Zoe. You don't need to be seeing this."

"What are you talking about? You are a doctor? Are you not going to call the fire department at least?" Zoe was in a complete state and once again, Harley gently put his hand on her shoulder, this time trying to guide her in the other direction.

"Trust me when I say this Zoe, it is time to go home. I am sure he wouldn't want you seeing this."

"Who? What are you tal…" but Zoe stopped talking when she saw Wade standing on the roof. She was frozen in place, no matter how much Harley was trying to coax her away.

"Ok, time to come down," she heard him say to the man. Harley looked at her with pleading eyes. She looked up at Wade, his eyes meeting hers briefly before focusing back on the crazy man. She could see he was embarrassed. She turned to Harley and nodded, letting him lead her away. He was right, she didn't need to see what was happening, she knew Wade would appreciate that she didn't stick around to see him on the roof. As they walked away, she heard someone start singing and soon, she could hear a crowd of voices singing Moon River, growing softer as her and Harley got closer to home.

"Every month, Earl cashes his government check and heads straight to the liquor store then he gets drunk and climbs up on that roof. Every month, his son comes and sings him down." Wow. Zoe was not expecting that. No 16 year old should have to go through that. Zoe didn't push for more details, she already heard enough from Lemon and George a few days before.

It was a warm night and Zoe had left her window open in the hope that a breeze would help with the sticky heat. It was nearing midnight and she was still awake, lying on her bed. She kept thinking about Wade and how he looked up there on that roof. She didn't pity him. No, she found it heroic that he was willing to do all that for his dad. She felt something land on her stomach and she looked down. Lying next to her was a paper airplane. She opened it and saw _You awake?_ scrawled in messy writing. She practically jumped off the bed and made her way to the window. His curtains were open and he was standing by his open window, one hand in his pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck. Definitely a nervous habit, she decided. He smiled when he saw her standing there.

"Hey," he said, almost in a whisper.

"Hey yourself"

"Look, I'm sorry about these past couple of days. I was…" she held up her hand and shook her head and he stopped talking.

"Wade, I get it. You don't have to explain it to me unless you want to. I'm not mad. I was just worried that I made you angry."

"I was angry at first but I was more angry at my dad for putting me in that position of you overhearing everything and seeing me so… vulnerable."

"Well, I know we hardly know each other but I am here for you Wade. Whether it's to talk about what's going on in your life or to get your mind off things by talking about mindless stuff, I'm here. Any time of day. I want to be your friend." Wade gave her a warm smile.

"Well, as your friend, I feel I should tell you how much I'm lovin' those pjs!" he said with a wink. She looked down and suddenly felt self conscious. She was wearing tiny shorts and a tank top that didn't leave much to the imagination. She turned to change into something more respectable.

"I'm teasin' Princess! No need to change on my account. I ain't gonna complain!" She pouted at him but didn't end up changing. She would never let him know but she quite liked that little nickname and she knew he didn't mean it in a condescending way. She sat down in her bay window and he dragged a chair over to his window. They stayed up all night, talking about anything and everything. She told him about her cat and all the nannies she had growing up and he told her about the time he got a fishing hook caught in his side and the time he fell out of his tree house. Eventually, they spoke about their pain. She told him how she felt abandoned by her mom by being sent here and that she wished her "father" hadn't pushed her away because it wasn't her fault that she wasn't his. It didn't make her love him any less. She confided that she wanted to be a heart surgeon, just like Ethan even though he didn't want her anymore. He told her how much it killed him to see his mom so sick and how much he resented Jesse for leaving him with the responsibility of his dad at such a young age. He spoke of his resentment towards his dad for not stepping up when he needed him and feeling like he had no one in life. At that confession, Zoe told him, with all the sincerity in the world, that he had her.

He didn't know how it was still possible to still have things to talk about but he felt he could talk to her forever and never run out of things to say. He wasn't scared to tell her how he felt about his family situation and when she confided in him, he didn't feel the need to back away. It was something he had never experienced before.

"Wade?" she asked softly. The sun was rising and he could tell she was starting to fall asleep.

"Yeah Doc?" She lifted her head at his new nickname for her. He smiled and continued, "You told me you want to be a surgeon. Jus' gettin' you used to the name for when people use it later." At that, she smiled widely. She went back to her question she had wanted to ask him.

"Why do you um… hook up with so many girls? I've heard about your reputation and I noticed how all those girls were looking at you that first day," her voice was softer than it had been all night. Wade wasn't sure if it was because she was tired or shy.

"Zo, actually it's not like…" He looked over to her and saw her eyes were closed and she was resting her head on her arms. He threw a crumpled piece of paper at her, startling her awake. She apologized and he shook it off.

"Go sleep Doc, we'll continue this conversation whenever. You need your rest. Thank you for tonight. I needed it." She smiled at him gratefully, not arguing with him telling her to go to bed. She crawled off the window sill and made her way to her bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow where she dreamed of tree houses and Moon River.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: This is the final chapter for the night. There will be more tomorrow. Thank you for the reviews and follows so far. Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy!**

The next day, Wade woke up earlier than expected. He felt rested despite only getting 4 or so hours of sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how amazing the previous night was. He was so glad he finally had a friend who was willing to listen to him talk about his problems without judging him. George, Lemon and Lavon had such perfect lives and they didn't understand. He was pretty hungry and decided to check if Zoe was awake and ask if she wanted to go to the Rammer Jammer. He knew there was going to be no food in the fridge anyway. He got out of bed, fixing his boxers (the only thing he was wearing) and walked to his window and saw her standing there with her back facing him, completely stark naked. She was brushing out her wet hair and he couldn't look away. She leaned over her dresser and put on some music. A catchy pop song came on and she started shaking her hips slightly and singing along. Wade sniggered and leaned with his elbow against his window frame. As he watched her dance around, he had to wipe the side of his mouth. Was she really making him drool? Wade brushed the thought aside and she put the brush down. She turned to walk towards her closet and lifted her arm to put her hair behind her shoulder. Wade caught sight of her exposed breast, he gasped and his elbow slipped. He knocked his head on the frame with a loud thud. Zoe turned to see what the noise was and screamed when she saw Wade standing there. He was rubbing the side of his head, looking at her.

"What the hell, Wade! Perv! Go away!" she was yelling as she grabbed a towel to cover herself up. She scrambled with the towel and once she had it wrapped tightly around her, she stormed over to the window, slammed it shut and drew the blinds. Who did he think he was, staring at her like that! He was worse than the flashers you get back in New York. Thank goodness Harley was gone for the day because if he had heard her screaming, she's pretty sure Wade would be dead by now. He was scary when he was being protective; she had realized these past few days. She couldn't believe Wade had done that after they had such a good talk the night before. Typical teenage boy. She had to get out of the house and fast before he followed her.

She was not dressed for the 100 degree weather. She was wearing a high necked sweater, jeans and a hat. She had to cover as much skin as possible. As soon as she stepped out of the house, she regretted her decision. She felt like she was melting but she had to persevere because she could not let Wade see any more than he already had. She put her head down and ran past Wade's house as fast as she could go while wearing heels. When she got to the end of the street, she slowed down and all of a sudden, someone jumped out in front of her. She screamed and came to a halt.

"Where you runnin' off to dressed like that Doc?" Wade asked, looking amused. Zoe glared at him but then looked away quickly when she remembered that he had seen her naked. She tried to push him away and walk around him but he wouldn't budge.

"Go away Wade. I don't want to see you or look at you or talk to you"

"Ah come on now. Don' be like that. It ain't nothin' I haven' seen before. Jus' cause you from New York doesn' mean you look different from the girls down here. Just maybe a little less tanned," he said while winking at her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You're a pig." He laughed at her and she shoved him a bit harder this time. He still didn't budge.

"Why were you watching me? That's so creepy. And pervy. And creepy!"

"You said creepy twice."

"Well, I had to emphasize how creepy it was," she said and he laughed again, "I still don't want to see you right now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She tried to push past him but he put his hands on her shoulders and wouldn't let her move.

"You going to confession?" She looked up at him, confused. He continued, "You gotta be going to church to be dressed like that in this heat!" She rolled her eyes. Again.

"I am covering my body so you don't let your imagination run away with you." She realized how silly that sounded. He got a look on his face that she didn't recognize.

"Well, you don' gotta dress like that for my benefit. If I wanted my imagination to go wild," he paused and took a step closer, leaning down. Her breath caught in her throat as she could smell his cologne. Or him. She wasn't sure what it was but it was delicious. She thought he was going to kiss her like she had that first night but instead, he moved to the side, his breath tickling her ear. Her breath hitched as he whispered, "I'd just have to close my eyes and picture you dancing around to that catchy little tune." He pulled away and her eyes widened. She went bright red and she slapped him. She stormed off back in the direction of her house.

She rushed into the house and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her. She made sure her blinds were properly drawn and took of her shirt. It was too hot even though there was a fan in her room. She slid her jeans off and pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top from her closet. As she was stepping into her shorts, she heard a voice and the door opening.

"Look, Zoe, I'm sorry. I was just teasin', I swear! I don' want you thin…" He stopped talking when he saw her. It was too late. Wade was standing in her room and she was standing in her underwear with her shorts around her ankles. His eyes widened and he looked embarrassed. He turned away from her and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Zoe screamed. "Did you learn nothing from this morning? You are unbelievable!"

"You left your front door unlocked. I… I'm sorry. I didn' think you would be getting' undressed. I swear! Oh God, you probably think I'm some sex crazed freak. I swear I didn' mean to!" He was rambling on and on.

"GET OUT!" Zoe yelled and he ran out of her room as fast as he could. He walked into his room briefly glancing at her window. Her blinds were still drawn and he lay on his bed. He felt so bad about walking in on her changing but he couldn't stop thinking about how sexy she was. Her body was amazing, curves in all the right places. He remembered how good her hair smelt when he had leant in to whisper in her ear. He was feeling woozy the more he thought about the events that had transpired that day. He needed a cold shower.

By the next evening, Wade still hadn't seen Zoe. He wanted to apologize and had tried throwing rocks against her window all night but her light had stayed off. He was muttering to himself as he walked into the Rammer Jammer. He slumped down in the booth where George and Lavon were sitting.

"Who's got your panties in a twist?" George asked laughing to himself. Wade punched him in the shoulder and leant his head back against the chair as George rubbed the spot he had just punched. George and Lavon decided it would be best to ignore him and carried on with their conversation about football that had been interrupted when Wade joined them. Wade was rubbing his hand over his eyes. He was tired and his head hurt. All of a sudden he heard her laugh floating through the air and he sat up. He saw her walk in with Lemon and Annabeth. Lavon got up to call them over but Wade dragged him down. Lavon, being much bigger than Wade, pushed his arm away and stood up. Wade crouched down as low as he could, George and Lavon looking at him like he was crazy. The girls made their way over to the booth and Zoe's smile faded when she saw Wade crouched down. The girls scooted into the booth leaving Zoe having to sit next to Wade.

"Hey," he mumbled as he looked at her nervously.

"Hey," she replied, fiddling with her skirt. The booth was quite crowded but the place was packed and there were no chairs to spare. Wade shifted to get a bit more comfortable and his arm accidently brushed against hers. He pulled his arm back as she did the same.

"Sorry," they both said at the same time. Wade rubbed his mouth and chuckled awkwardly. There was a thick silence at the table.

"Did something happen with you two?" Lemon eventually asked.

"What? No. Why would you think that?" Zoe responded, her voice getting high. Wade shrugged and the silence lingered again.

"I uh… I gotta go," Zoe said suddenly as she jumped up. "I just remembered I have to uh… feed my fish. No wait I don't have a fish. Um… I need to uh… buy some marshmallows from the Dixie Stop before it closes so yeah… Ok… yeah. Bye." She backed away into a table behind her and stumbled. She blushed and ran out of the bar without looking back. Everyone left at the table looked to Wade for an explanation. He just put his head in his hands and didn't say another word for the rest of the night. The rest of the group was talking about the plans for 4th of July. It was well known that the summer before junior year was when you finally ditched the celebrations and headed to the college party at Old Babcock Pond. It was known to get pretty crazy and about as rebellious as things got in Bluebell. He heard AB mention how Zoe was excited for the party and at that, Wade perked up a little. On the way home, Wade was trying to come up with a plan to get Zoe to forgive him. It would have to be at the party tomorrow because he doubted that she would be willing to talk to him. He really hadn't meant to stare at her while she was dancing around, he didn't mean to walk in on her changing and he definitely didn't mean to think about her and her curves all day. Sometimes these things just happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Thanks for all the support. I am really enjoying writing this story! Next chapter will be up tonight. Enjoy**

The next night, after Lemon had assured Harley that Zoe would be safe, he reluctantly let her go down to Old Babcock Pond rather than attend the festival in town. He had heard the stories about the infamous party but he could see how happy she was and she hadn't even been here for 2 weeks yet. He wanted her fit in and love Bluebell. He was glad she had made friends so fast. Lemon had told her that heels would not be appropriate for where they were going so she opted for denim shorts, a black crop top and black strappy, flat sandals. She wore her hair in a side braid in order to keep it under control. It was still ridiculously hot and her hair was not cooperating. She had wanted to ask Lemon if Wade was going to be there but refrained because Lemon already had her suspicions that there was something neither of the two were telling her. Every time she thought about him seeing her naked and in her underwear, she blushed profusely. When she left the house; Lemon, Annabeth and Lavon were squashed into the back of George's mom's car. Wade was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Uh, why is the tallest guy sitting in the back?" Zoe asked as she walked towards the car. George huffed and mumbled something. Zoe could make out the words close, Lemon and unfair.

"That's not why. Wade called shot gun," Lavon said from the back seat as he shoved George's head.

"So, where am I sitting?" Zoe asked. She had a feeling she knew the answer since there was no space in the back. Clearly Wade only realized where that would be when she asked and he got out of the car awkwardly.

"Uh, hey, Lavon you can sit in the front," Wade said as he looked at Zoe. She walked closer and he said softly, only loud enough for her to hear, "I didn't realize you'd have to sit on my lap I swear. I… I know you think I probably planned it but…" he stopped speaking and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down.

"You kidding boy. You know how long it took me to get into this back seat? How long you think it's gonna take me to get out? George, why didn't you bring your dad's truck, man?"

"When Harry took his truck last year, he rammed it into a wall and my dad doesn't trust me not to do the same," George replied. Wade gave Zoe an apologetic smile and went to sit back in the passenger seat. She swallowed hard and followed. She sat on his lap with her back straight and her hand on her lap. She was so short; her head didn't even touch the roof. When George started driving, the car lurched forward and Zoe fell back and ended up leaning against Wade's chest.

"Doc, I'm so sorry for what happened. Please. I don't want our new friendship ruined just cause I did a stupid thin' that any teenage boy would have done if he had seen someone as beautiful as you doin' what you were doin'. And I swear, I didn' mean to walk into your room," he whispered into her ear as her hair brushed his cheek. She blushed at him calling her beautiful and nodded to let him know all was forgiven. She tried to sit up again but Wade wrapped her arms around her waist and kept her there. She relaxed against his shoulder for the rest of the ride. When they got to the party, Lemon and AB dragged her off as soon as they got out of the car.

"What on earth is happening with you and Wade?" AB asked as soon as they were out of ear shot of the guys. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Would you two stop asking me that! There is nothing going on, we had a fight and we sorted it out in the car. Nothing else. We are just friends." Lemon shot her a look that said she didn't believe what she was saying. While this was happening, Lavon and George were interrogating Wade.

"Dude. What is going on with you and Big Z?" Lavon asked. Wade rolled his eyes.

"Nothin' man. I did somethin' stupid the other day and the car was the first opportunity she gave me to apologize and now all is good."

"Good as in she's gonna be the one to warm your bed tonight good?"

"What? No. My relationship with the Doc isn' like that and don' even imply it. We are friends and if she hears you sayin' dumb things like that, I'll be in the dog house again." Lavon held up his hands in an apologetic way. A group of girls walked past them and one grabbed Wade's hand as she walked past and dragged him away from his friends. Zoe watched him get dragged away and huffed before she walked back to Lavon and George.

"You ready for your first Bluebell rager Big Z?" Lavon asked as he swung his arm around her. She laughed, wondering how crazy things could get in such a small town. They walked towards where there was a DJ and saw about 20 kegs of beer and 15 coolers filled to the brim with bottles. She had clearly underestimated the youth of Bluebell. She had drank before at house parties in New York. She didn't really enjoy it that much but she knew she'd be safe here with her friends.

Half an hour and 3 wine coolers later, Zoe was feeling pretty buzzed. She couldn't stop giggling and Lavon was having a problem keeping her in one place.

"Let's go find Wade," she suggested. Lavon grabbed her arm to try stop her from running off.

"Now Big Z, I don't think that's the best idea. You don't know what you might walk in on!"

"But Lavoooooooon, I want to talk to him. He's my friend and I want to talk to him." She put her hands on her hips, pouted and stomped her foot like a small child. "Look, Lemon is coming this way!" Lavon looked to where Zoe was pointing and Zoe dashed off before he could stop her. She ran past the girl she was sure had dragged Wade away earlier. She was pushed against the wall by someone wearing plaid who had his face in her neck.

"Wade, I was looking for you!" Zoe exclaimed, grabbing his arm. The guy pulled away and she saw it wasn't him. "Sorry! Weren't you with Wade earlier?" she asked, directing her question to the girl.

"Yeah, I was but he wasn't interested in havin' any fun tonight so I left him by the pond." Zoe scrunched up her nose as the guy returned to kissing the girls neck and she walked away in the direction of the pond.

She stumbled through the woods calling Wade's name over and over.

"Oh Wade, where are you? I gotta somethin' to tell ya," she giggled, "I sounded like a real Southerner when I said that." She carried on giggling. She saw him sitting on the ground overlooking the water. She sat down next to him with a thud, bringing him out of his daze. He took a long swig of the beer he was holding.

"Hey Waaaaadddddddeeeeeee," she said, dragging his name out. He looked amused.

"Look at you girl, drunk as a boiled owl," she giggled again.

"Shhhh, I have to tell you something." He raised an eyebrow at her waiting for her to speak. She leaned in close.

"I'm drunk," she said and burst out laughing. He smirked, taking another swig of his beer.

"You don' say. And so quickly too. We only been here, what? Half an hour, an hour max?"

"Well, I don't drink that often and maybe I'd be in a better state if you didn't run off with some floozy, leaving me to fend for myself. Speaking of, I saw said floozy and she said you weren't interested in 'havin' fun' tonight." Wade rolled his eyes.

"Sorry I left you, but yeah, I wasn' lookin' to hook up with anyone tonight." Zoe scoffed.

"I've heard all about your reputation Waaaaddddddeeeee. You are always looking for a hook up."

"Just cause you heard stories, don' make 'em true," Wade said curtly. Zoe studied him for a minute but her brain was fuzzy and she wanted another drink. She grabbed the beer out of his hand, taking a big sip. She spluttered at the bitter taste.

"Yuck! How can you drink this stuff? It's disgusting!" He laughed at her, trying to take his beer back but she brought it to her lips and took another sip. This time, she pulled a face but swallowed without complaining. They sat in silence, listening to the crickets when suddenly, Zoe jumped up, startling Wade.

"We should go swimming!" she exclaimed, suddenly excited. She took of her shoes and brought her hands to the button on her shorts. Wade stood up and ran his hand through his hair.

"Zo, I don' think this is the best idea. You're pretty wasted right now and I think we should get you back to the party." Zoe narrowed her eyes at him and undid her shorts.

"It's like a gazillion degrees, I'm hot. I want to swim." He looked at her as she pushed her pants down to her ankles. He gulped, his throat suddenly feeling dry. She lifted her top over her head. Another matching set, he noticed.

"Scared, Wade? Come on, I dare you!" she challenged. He wasn't one to turn down a dare so he pulled his shirt off and dropped his pants to the floor. They stood there facing each other, him in his boxers and her in her underwear. She looked unsure for a split second then got a determined look on her face. She walked towards the pond when Wade called out behind her.

"Hey Doc, just so you know, there are snakes in that water."She stopped dead and turned around, eyes wide. She walked back towards him and grabbed her clothes from the floor, pulling them back on. She stormed off and he scrambled to get his clothes on. He caught up to her and put his hand on her shoulder to slow her down. He felt her shoulders slump when he touched her and he pulled her to a stop. She was looking at the floor and he put his hand gently under her chin and tipped her face upwards, forcing her to look at him. She was positively minute without heels on. She had tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned as his thumb caught a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Are there really snakes in the water?" He furrowed his brows at her.

"Yes of course! Why would I say it if it weren' true?" She shrugged, trying to look down. He held her face up, not allowing her to look away.

"Doc?"

"So it wasn't cause you didn't want to hook up with me?" He wanted to laugh but the look in her eyes told him she was being serious.

"That's why you suggested we swim? Cause you wanted to hook up with me?"

"No. I don't know. My head is spinning and my tongue feels heavy. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. We are friends and yes, you're hot. I mean not hot. I mean, uh… I don't know what I mean. I'm drunk. I cannot be held accountable for what I'm saying. I always cry when I get drunk, you can ask my friends back in New York. We can call them right now. Let's call them, they'll tell you!" She couldn't stop rambling. Wade looked at her and brushed his thumb over her lips. She stopped talking.

She sighed. "Can you take me home?"

"Can't do that Doc, George is driving. But how bout we sit here and watch the fireworks, they should be startin' real soon." She nodded and he led her back to where they had been sitting earlier. The fireworks were amazing; they could almost rival any she had seen in New York. They went on for ages. At some point, the temperature dropped and Wade put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and they sat there, completely comfortable.

When she got back into her room that night, she opened her blinds and window. Wade was lying on his bed, replaying the events of the night. A paper plane landed at the foot of his bed and he laughed at her terrible aim. He opened it and it read _You won't tell anyone about what happened tonight? _He wrote back quickly and sent the jet flying back through his window.

When she read the untidy response, she smiled to herself. _It'll be our little secret. _She wrote back _Promise?_ and waited until the jet came flying back. _Always._ She looked at him, lying on his bed and waved good night. He smiled widely at her and turned out the light. She did the same a few minutes later. They both lay awake, thinking about the other as they drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Since that night, Wade and Zoe were inseparable. Where ever one was, the other was not far behind. They had heard the gossip and rumors floating around that everyone thought they were secretly a couple but they ignored it. Over the next few weeks, they spent almost every night staying up talking through their windows until one of them, usually Zoe, fell asleep. Lemon still insisted at every chance she got that they were hiding something but they brushed her off. The Lavon, Lemon and George triangle had now become a square. AB was pining over Lavon, Lavon was pining over Lemon, Lemon was still stringing both boys along and Zoe was sure that while George was still very much into Lemon, she saw him looking longingly at AB the other day. Zoe was helping out at the practice a few days a week and Wade was now a bus boy at the Rammer Jammer. He needed the money because it seemed as if Earl had given up on going into work at all these days.

A few days after the party at Old Babcock Pond, a girl approached Wade at the Rammer Jammer and whispered something in his ear. Zoe had been sitting opposite him at the table and he looked at her before he smiled politely at the girl, Daisy she thinks he called her, and thanked her for the offer but that he was going to have to decline the invitation and any future invitations. The girl was so mad that she slapped him and walked away. No girl has bothered to approach him since but Zoe noticed that he didn't seem bothered by it. Zoe and Wade always seemed to be touching each other, subconsciously. When they were eating at the bar, they sat in a booth right next to each other, no matter how much available space there was. When they walked down the street, they walked close enough that their arms were brushing against each other. At night, when there was slight chill in the air, Wade threw his arm around her, telling himself that it was just because his momma raised him right in the few years he had with her before she passed and he wasn't about to let a girl freeze on his watch.

One night, Wade was over at her house and they were watching a movie. Harley was working late as he had fallen behind on some paper work over the past few weeks. They had argued about what movie to watch and Zoe had lost so they were stuck watching some scary movie. She hated scary movies. Even though the couch was easily big enough to seat 3 grown people comfortably, they were sitting close enough that their legs were touching. During a really scary part of the movie, Zoe jumped, pulled her knees into her and huddled into Wade's chest, covering her eyes. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He started playing with a strand of her hair, the smell of her shampoo intoxicating. Zoe eventually uncovered her eyes but stayed in that position for the rest of the movie. Once it was done, Wade changed the channel to something more lighthearted but they didn't move from that spot. Zoe could feel his laugh vibrating through him as she had her head resting on his chest. When he wasn't laughing at something in whatever they were watching; she wasn't concentrating on what was happening on screen; she could hear his heart beating fast. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sound.

"This is nice." It was Wade who spoke which surprised Zoe. She had obviously been thinking it but she didn't think he was. She pulled away from him slightly, looking up at him.

"Yeah, it is," she smiled at him, hair falling into her face. He slowly tucked the piece behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek. She felt her cheeks heat up and heard his breath catch in his throat. She looked down at his lips and then back up into his eyes, which were now a shade darker. He licked his lips and leaned in slowly. Her eyes fluttered shut and she could feel his breath on her lips. She realized what was about to happen and jumped up, knocking her head into his. He screamed out in pain, hands flying to cover his nose. She noticed it was bleeding and immediately felt guilty. She ran around to get the first aid kit. She got out some gauze and made him lean forward slightly while she pinched his nose to stop the bleeding. Eventually the bleeding stopped and they looked at each other, tension thick in the air.

"So uh… I'm gonna go. Gotta be at work early tomorrow and all." Zoe nodded and he let himself out. She went up to her room and saw that his light was already off. She flopped down onto her bed, face first, and screamed into her pillow.

Two days later, Zoe was officially avoiding Wade. This is what she did best. She avoided. She wasn't much help at the practice because she was distracted so Harley sent her to pick up lunch for them at the Rammer Jammer. She knew Wade didn't work on Wednesdays so she should be in the clear. When she walked in the bar, she was looking around in case he happened to be there. She wanted to be ready when she saw him. She was looking behind her when she smacked into someone. She heard a crash and breaking glass. She was on the floor and when she looked forward, Wade was on the floor too with his tray of dirty dishes shattered on the floor.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," they both said at the same time. They laughed, easing some of the tension. They looked at each other and smiled. Zoe quickly snapped out of it and helped him clean up the glass. They were almost done when Wade accidently cut his hand on a large shard. The blood gushed out quickly and Zoe grabbed his hand to survey the damage.

"I think you're gonna need stitches," she said as she was holding his hand in front of her.

"That your professional opinion, Doc?" he teased. She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled him up. She told Wally that he needed to go see Harley and Wally waved them off. Half way to the practice, Wade spoke.

"You know, I don' know if I should trust you. You knock me to the ground the first day we meet, give me a nose bleed and now this. I think my life might be in danger around you, Princess."

"Keep talking like that and your life WILL be in danger," she threatened playfully. He laughed and threw his arm around her. When they walked into the practice, Harley took Wade into his office and Zoe followed. Harley tried to protest but she ignored him. She sat next to where Wade was lying and took his (uninjured) hand in hers. When Harley gave him the injection to numb his hand, he squeezed Zoe's hand. She stroked his hand and told him the story of when she broke her arm when she was 10 years old while Harley was sewing Wade up. The cut was long and deep and he needed 10 stitches.

Harley watched the two as Wade was so focused on her words. He could tell by the way Zoe looked at Wade that this was far deeper than friendship for her and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He just hoped Wade wouldn't hurt her. He tried not to listen to the town gossip but he had heard the rumors of Wade's multiple conquests. Looking at the way Wade was so engrossed in what she was saying, he pushed that thought out of his mind. The way Wade looked at Zoe was the exact same way she looked at him; he was as head over heels as she was. Harley finished with the stitches but neither of them noticed so he slipped out, leaving them talking to each other. It was half an hour later when he needed his office for a patient that he came in to kick them out. They hadn't even noticed he had left, let alone was done with the stitches.

As the month went by, Zoe and Wade were still only friends even if they were more inseparable than ever. Harley had brought up the topic of her feelings for Wade and she laughed nervously and brushed him off, saying that there were only feelings of friendship there. July was quickly over and soon, it was August 1st. The whole day, Wade had been distracted and Zoe knew it was because later he would be standing on top of the hardware store singing his father down. He didn't even care when they had walk past George and AB kissing behind the gazebo. Zoe had gasped and could not believe what she was seeing. Last week, she had caught him and Lemon flirting shamelessly behind the Rammer Jammer. Wade just kicked a stone that was in front of him, shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking. She ran after him and when she tried to get him to open up, he mumbled that he wanted to be alone and that he'd see her the next day. She was upset but she understood and let him go.

That night, Harley had to go to Mobile to deliver a baby so Zoe was alone at home. He didn't want to drive home too late so he was going to stay in Mobile for the night. She looked at the time and saw that Wade would soon be home from singing his dad down. She changed into pajamas more appropriate than her flimsy pjs, went downstairs and walked to Wade's front door. It was unlocked, as most houses were in Bluebell, so she let herself in. The house was a mess and she knew he would probably be embarrassed when he found out she was inside. She saw a garbage can piling over with liquor bottles and she shook her head. She made her way upstairs and went into Wade's room. She could see a lot of his room from her window but it looked very different standing when in it.

On his desk, which she couldn't see from her window, there was an old frame of a woman with a young boy. She assumed that was his mom and him. She was beautiful and he had her smile and her eyes. He had told her a little bit about her during their late night chats but didn't like to go into too much detail. There was another frame with a younger, healthier looking Earl, the same woman from the photo and 2 young boys. Wade must have been about 3 in the picture and he was sitting on his dad's lap looking up at him and Earl was beaming down at him. She assumed the other boy who was sitting on his mom's lap was his brother, Jesse. In a third frame, there was a close up picture of him, her, Lemon, George and Lavon. AB had taken it a few days after the 4th of July party. They had spent the day at George's house playing video games. She noticed that their faces were pressed tightly together while the other 3 were a little further away from them and not so close to each other. They all looked so happy. She put the frame down and went to sit on his bed. She was wondering how he would act when he saw her in his room. She knew him well enough by now to know that he would probably get mad and try to push her away but she also knew him well enough to know that he would appreciate it even if he didn't say it.

She heard a ruckus downstairs and knew they were home. She heard him yelling at Earl to get some sleep and she flinched when she heard a door slam. His bedroom door opened and he was standing there, looking resigned.

"Hey Cowboy," she said with a small smile. His jaw stiffened and he crossed his arms.

"What are you doin' here?"

"Thought you might wanna yell at someone and I knew your dad would probably pass out so I figured I'd give you an excuse to yell at me." He gave her a disheartened smile and made his way to the bed.

"I appreciate the offer but I ain't gonna yell at ya," he said sitting down next to her. She put her hand over his and he rested his head on her shoulder. He drew a deep breath in. "I just wish… I just wish I could be the child and he could be the dad."

"I know," she whispered.

"I wish he didn't force me to embarrass myself in front of the whole town."

"I know"

"I wish… my mom was alive." Her heart clenched.

"I know"

"I really really wish she was here right now, Zo. I really needed my mom today." His voice broke and he cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Wade. It's ok. You don't have to pretend to be strong. Not tonight." With that, he felt the flood gates open. He stifled a sob and she turned to face him. He nuzzled his face into her neck and cried. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry. He had her shirt balled into his fists as the tears flowed.

Eventually, she wasn't sure after how long, she shifted because she was getting uncomfortable sitting in the same position for so long. He was still crying and when she moved, he looked up at her. She had never seen him look as vulnerable as he did in that moment. She moved to lie down on the bed and held out her hands for him. He took off his shoes and lay down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her again and rested his forehead against hers. The tears were now silently flowing down his face. She moved to wrap an arm around his neck, resting her other hand on his chest. She was running her fingers through his hair. They stayed like that for a while and eventually Wade fell asleep. She watched him for a while and soon sleep enveloped her. She woke up sometime during the night with her head on his bare chest. He must have got up at some point to change into his pajamas. His arm was wrapped around her protectively. He was warm from sleep and she snuggled into him before drifting off again, with a smile on her face.

**Author's note: I think this is my favorite chapter so far. I found this chapter very difficult to write, not because I didn't have the ideas but because of the last scene. I kept thinking about Wade as a teenager and how difficult it must have been for him stepping up at such a young age. I imagined the first time he saw his dad standing on the roof and thought he must have been so scared. And then of course, I realized that this a completely fictional character and I am too emotionally invested haha. **

**Will try finish the next chapter tonight and post it tomorrow :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if anyone has any comments, criticisms or questions, please feel free to ask them in the reviews or message me privately. Reviews are always ****appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: The thing I hate most about this website is if you update with 2 chapters in a day, it often doesn't show up, it will still say last updated 19 hours ago, for example, even if you had updated 2 hours before with a new chapter. That is what happened yesterday with chapter 6 so unless you follow the story or just happened to see it said 6 chapters, you would not have seen it was updated. **

**IN THAT CASE: If the last chapter you read was the 4th of July party, there is another chapter before this one! An important chapter so don't skip it! **

**This next chapter is important for future happenings. Thanks for the continued support. Happy reading! Next chapter will be up tomorrow.**

The next morning, Wade woke feeling rested which was unusual for the day after his dad's drunken sing along in town. Zoe was lying flat on her stomach, her hair spread out with her arm flung over his chest. She was snoring softly. Wade sat up and poked her side. She grumbled and swatted his hand away. He poked her again and she smacked him a bit harder. He poked her once more and she grabbed the pillow she was lying on and put it over her head. He grabbed the pillow with ease and flung it off the bed. She moaned and shut her eyes tight. He leaned close into her and whispered.

"You snore." She opened one eye and glared at him.

"No I do not!" she mumbled, still glaring.

"You do, it's very cute," he said chuckling. Opening the other eye, she huffed and turned onto her back, folding her arms over her chest.

"You're not funny."

"Wasn' tryna be. Just statin' the facts." She took note of the fact that he said facts. Being plural. Meaning that him saying she was cute is a fact. Her heart fluttered but she continued glaring.

"Me snoring is not a fact."

"I will record it next time if you don' believe me!" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Next time?" She smirked at him. His eyes widened when he realized what he had said. He composed himself quickly.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" he said cockily. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Not at all," she responded, sticking her tongue out at her.

"Did you just stick your tongue out at me?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" she teased, using his exact same words and tone from before.

"Not at all," he mimicked, playing along. "But you're gonna pay." He got a mischievous look on his face and she knew what was coming. She tried to move off the bed but he grabbed her. He started tickling her sides and tried to tell him to stop but she couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. She decided to fight fire with fire and started tickling him back. She found his most ticklish spot and he surrendered, falling back onto the bed. Even though he had stopped tickling her, she didn't give up. Knowing he was stronger than her and could get away from her tickle attack, she straddled him. Not being able to take it anymore, Wade grabbed her wrists and made her stop. His chest was heaving and she was breathing heavily but giggling, still on top of him. They stared at each other while their breathing slowed.

"Zoe!" She got such a fright that she fell off the bed; Wade looked to where the voice was coming from. Harley was standing at Zoe's window and he looked furious. Wade realized what it must have looked like to him, his daughter wearing her pajamas sitting on top of a boy in just his boxers.

"If you are not home in 1 minute young lady, you will be grounded for a month." Zoe jumped up off the floor and ran out of Wade's room without looking back. Harley shot Wade a look before turning and leaving Zoe's room, obviously going to wait for her downstairs.

Zoe entered the house and saw Harley standing in the hallway with his arms folded.

"What was that?! You think me leaving for the night gives you the chance for a free for all night at your boyfriend's house? Do you have any idea how worried I was when I got home and you weren't in your room only for me to find you in bed with the town's Casanova? What were you thinking Zoe? I've been quiet long enough. I see how you two are around each other, how you spend all your free time together but I chose to trust you when you told me there was nothing going on and then I walk in on that?" He was yelling. Zoe was surprised at how scary he was at that moment because he was always soft spoken and she didn't know that he was capable of raising his voice.

"It's not what it looked like," she replied, her voice shaking and soft.

"I know I am older than most fathers of children your age but I am not naïve. I know what I saw, I am not blind."

"He was tickling me and I started tickling him back. I swear; that is all that happened."

"Why were you in his bed in the first place then?" Still yelling, he raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response.

"Uh… I slept over," she mumbled.

"And why exactly did you do that?" Harley asked, his voice calm but somehow, it was worse than the yelling.

"He was having a rough time, he had to sing his dad down again last night and I was there to support him. He's my friend." Harley scoffed at that. Zoe got angry.

"Are you really going to believe the town's gossip over your own daughter? I was there for him when he was upset and we fell asleep. That's it." She was yelling and tears were forming out of frustration.

"You are moving to the spare bedroom today. You will not see Wade unless you are in a group."

"Please don't do this," she whispered, the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Go and pack up your room. I will get the room ready so long." Zoe stormed upstairs and locked her bedroom door. Wade was standing at his window, waiting for her. She looked at him, the tears falling hard and fast. He looked worried.

"I have to move into the other room," she choked out. Wade felt like the air had been knocked out of him. His favorite part of the day was their late night talks.

"That's not all." He looked at her, expecting the worst.

"I'm not allowed to see you unless we're in a group." He closed his eyes and leaned against his window frame.

"We'll see each other all the time. George, AB, Lavon and Lemon hang out all the time. We will just gate crash their awkward, warped, incestuous double dates," he joked. She laughed through her tears and nodded, biting her lower lip in order to try stop more tears from escaping. She knew she was being silly. It wasn't like she was moving back to New York.

As if he had read her mind, Wade said, "This isn't bad Doc. It could have been a lot worse." She nodded. They stood there, looking at each other for a while before she resigned herself to packing up some of her things. She refused to move everything, just the essentials that she would need. She would move back into her room when Harley calmed down.

That night, Wade lay on his bed feeling defeated. If he was honest with himself, he knew exactly why he was so upset. He missed Zoe, even though she was still next door. He had never felt this way about anyone and not being able to speak to her and see her whenever he wanted to crushed him. He put his hands over his face. He knew he couldn't keep up this friendship, if you could call it that. He knew normal friends didn't spend the amount of time they did together or talk like they talked. They had so many moments that made him sure she felt the same way. But then he thought about their almost kiss a while back and the way she jumped away when she realized what was about to happen and it made him doubt everything he thought he knew. Even if she didn't feel the same way, he had to tell her how he felt.

Zoe lay on her new bed and could not sleep. It wasn't the most comfortable mattress and she had been crying all day which had brought on a headache. She hadn't seen Wade all day because Harley would not allow her back into her room once her stuff was moved. She hated not being able to talk to him. She knew she had deep feelings for him and today had just proved how deep they really ran. She was pretty sure he felt something for her, they had almost kissed and they spent a lot of time together. She had to tell him how she felt. If he didn't feel the same way, they could go back to being friends, she could live with that. She just couldn't keep it a secret for much longer. She wanted to sneak back into her room to see if he was awake but she knew Harley was going to be on high alert for the sound of an opening door. Eventually, after hours, she fell asleep.

The next day, Harley forced her to go into the practice with him. She was still ignoring him so when he told her she had to go with him; she grabbed her stuff, crossed her arms and went to sit in the car without a word. Lemon came into the office and Zoe told her about what happened. Lemon squealed when she told her that they slept in the same bed (she didn't mention the crying) and said it was about time. Zoe rolled her eyes and said that nothing had happened to which Lemon responded that they should both just admit how they felt about each other. Lemon was excited to plan group get togethers so that Wade and Zoe could have some time together. She rushed out of the office to find AB so they could start planning the first one.

Two days later, Zoe finally spoke to Harley.

"I'm going out." She was heading out the door.

"Hold it right there. Where are you going?"

"AB's house. She's having a get together. I'm staying over."

"You may be mad but you cannot just stay over at someone's house without asking my permission first. I am your father."

"Fine. AB is having a small get together tonight. Lavon, George and Wade will be there. They are not staying over but she asked Lemon and I to stay for the night and have a sleep over, doing the usual girl stuff like painting each other's nails." Harley sighed.

"Alright but Zoe, before you go. I know you are upset with me. But please just remember that I have never done this before. I don't know how your mother did things and what she expected of you with regards to… boys. Please be a little bit more understanding of where I am coming from. I am trying to protect you." Zoe felt a twang of guilty. She dropped her overnight bag and walked towards him. She pulled him into a hug, the first time they have had such close contact.

"I'm sorry. But please, please let me move back into my room."

"Ok, you can move back into you room but I am putting my foot down about seeing him outside the house. Only in a group setting. At least for a while." Zoe nodded, frustrated but she understood and was grateful that she could move back into her room. Being able to have their late night chats would make up for any time they couldn't spend together during the day. She hugged him and ran out the door.

Lemon and George were waiting for her; she tried not to look disappointed, expecting Wade to be there as well. Lemon noticed and told her that he had gone with Lavon in case Harley didn't want her driving in a car with him. When they got to the intersection where they would normally turn to AB's house, they turned the other way.

"Wait, where are we going?" Zoe asked confused.

"Yeah… AB's parents don't allow her to have boys at her house. We are going to the old plantation." Zoe's eyes widened and she gulped. She hoped Harley wouldn't find out.

The old plantation was beautiful. It was big and white but really run down and in desperate need of restoration. George drove past it and stopped between two smaller houses.

"This is the old gate house and that over there is the carriage house. We figured here would be best because we could swim in the pond if we wanted to." George took Zoe's bag and she followed them inside, stopping in the doorway. Wade was leaning against a counter, talking to Lavon and AB. He looked up when she walked in and beamed at her. He walked towards her as Lemon and George got to the counter.

He stood opposite her, his hands in his pockets. He was nervous. It had only been a few days since they last saw each other but it felt different. Maybe it was because he had admitted his feelings to himself and had planned to tell her. He felt awkward. Zoe fiddled with her hands. Why did she feel so awkward? This was Wade for crying out loud and for once, the reason for not seeing each other wasn't because they had fought. It wasn't meant to feel weird. Maybe it was because she knew she wanted to tell him how she felt and was feeling nervous.

Lavon looked on at this awkward encounter, "Why do you think they are being so awkward?" he whispered to the group. George and AB shrugged but Lemon whispered back, "Obviously because they both really like each other and they are scared." AB rolled her eyes, "You can't possibly know that from them awkwardly looking at each other." Lemon gave her a look, "It's obvious AB, we've all seen the way they are with each other. Maybe their forced time apart made them realize it for themselves. Although, I think they have known all along but refused to admit it." George and Lavon nodded in agreement.

"Hey," Wade breathed awkwardly.

"Hey," Zoe responded, still fiddling with her hands. Wade took a large step forward and wrapped her into a bear hug. Zoe immediately relaxed.

"I don't like not having you just outside my window," he said into her hair. She laughed.

"You make me sound like a stalker," she whispered back.

"Well, you did break into my house so…"

"Let's not get start comparing stalkerish behavior, Peeping Tom!" He chuckled, still not letting her go.

"Can you blame me?" She pulled back, smiling.

"I guess not, I mean no man is immune to all of this." She motioned with her hands to show off her body. Wade burst out laughing and wrapped her into a hug again.

"I missed you," he mumbled. She smiled and squeezed him tight.

"I missed you too." They pulled away and walked back to the group, the awkwardness finally gone. _Those two need to get together already. Tonight. And I'm going to make it happen, _Lemon thought to herself as she started thinking up a typical Breeland scheme.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think you'll like it. Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate everyone's input. DrewSaywer, your last 2 reviews meant a lot to me. As do everyone's but your compliments were very touching. The next chapter will be up tomorrow afternoon, possibly evening. Maybe Friday, depending on how tonight's party goes haha.**

**I have another idea for a story that I'll hopefully get started soon so check back soon!**

**Hope everyone has a happy New Year and stays safe. 2015 is finally here which means we get our favorites back! Can't wait to see what the rest of season 4 has in store!**

The air was sticky and hot by the time the teens had finished lunch at the gate house. Lemon and AB had packed all sorts of snacks they had baked and made themselves and Zoe was stuffed.

"I will never get used to this heat," Zoe said complaining. They were all spread out on blankets on the floor. She was sitting in between Wade's legs, leaning back on his chest. George and Lemon were sitting on the same blanket, her head on his lap. Lavon had his feet intertwined with AB's. Zoe examined the situation and was so confused. A few days ago, George and AB were all over each other and now it seemed like there had been yet another couple switch. She couldn't keep up anymore. She also had no idea how any of them were still friendly without there being insane jealousy or misunderstandings.

"Maybe you wouldn' be so hot if you weren' lying all over me," Wade said, in a playful tone. She sat up and shoved him. Lemon took that as her cue to implement part one of her plan.

"You know, we should swim. The water will be great," Lemon suggested.

"Yeah, I'm game," Zoe responded, standing up. She turned to Wade and said "You coming? Or are there snakes in this water too?" He gave her look and stood up.

"What are you talking about?" AB asked.

"Just an inside joke," Zoe commented as she walked to get her swimsuit.

The girls were still changing and the guys were standing on the edge of the water.

"When you finally gonna admit to Zoe that you looovvvveeee her?" Lavon asked, putting his hand over his heart.

"I don't looovvvveeee her," Wade responded.

"I'm sorry man but you guys act like a couple. Her lying back on your chest like that today at lunch? You cannot tell me you guys are just friends. I ain't buying it."

"I don't looovvvveeee her but I will admit that I may have some feelings for her that are more than friendship. I was thinking about telling her tonight but I'm not sure if she feels the same way." Lavon smacked him on the back and Wade coughed.

"Finally man! It's about time you admitted it! And if she doesn't feel the same way, I will make it my life's goal to become the next mayor of Fillmore. And you know how much I hate that place. Lavon Hayes knows things and he knows that she feels the same way. How you gonna tell her?"

"I haven't exactly thou…" Wade stopped talking when he saw Zoe walk out of the gate house. She was standing there in a blue bikini and she looked amazing. The fact that he knew what was underneath that skimpy swimsuit was not helping matters. He dived into the cool water before she got any closer.

"We should play Marco Polo. I'll start." Lemon suggested. The game was well on its way when Wade swam up quietly behind Zoe. He put one hand on her hip and she shivered.

"Cold, Doc?" he whispered, trying not to alert Lemon to any sound. She could hear the smirk in his voice. She shook her head, trying to keep her mind off the fact that his hand was low on her hip, his thumb grazing her hip bone.

"Wanna go talk somewhere? Don' get me wrong, I'm enjoying this but..." She nodded and grabbed his hand, swimming to the edge quietly. Once they had got out without making a sound, the grabbed their towels and ran towards the carriage house. Lemon opened one eye and smiled victoriously as she watched them run off, hand in hand.

"She's gonna kill us when she finds out we snuck out on the game!" Zoe said as she lay her towel down on the floor of the carriage house.

"Probably but at least this way, we don' have to see them navigate whatever they got goin' on between the 4 of 'em." She lay down on her towel and faced him, propping herself up on her elbow.

"I don't get them. It's gross. AB and George were making out last week, does that not bug Lemon? Lemon and George slept together, did he tell you that? And I know she hasn't just kissed Lavon, she's done way more. And since when is Lavon interested in AB?"

"You're thinkin' too hard Princess, I can practically see the smoke comin' from your ears." She scowled at him.

"I just couldn't do it. I get too invested. I wouldn't be able to hook up with one guy and then another guy a few days later. I just want that stuff to mean something. I've kissed guys before but I wouldn't just so freely do other stuff with someone random. I don't know what kind of person wou…" She stopped talking abruptly, realizing that Wade was like that. She didn't know how many girls he had been with, he never spoke about it with her. She looked at him and he was looking down, smoothing out a part of his towel.

"I'm gonna go steal us somethin' to drink," he said, getting up.

"Wade!" she called after him but he was already out the door. She lay on her back and put her hands over her head. She didn't mean for it to sound like she was judging him, she could never do that. She didn't judge him but she was wondering if someone with his experience would ever want someone like her? She had kissed 2 guys before and both were pretty awful. What could she offer him? It was obviously important to him and she wasn't sure if she could live up to his expectations.

He came back in wearing a t shirt and carrying a box of wine and 2 red solo cups. He threw something at her and she caught it, realizing it was his hoodie and a pair of her shorts.

"I figured you'd probably get cold later, lying in only that skimpy little thing," he winked. He definitely didn't seem angry or upset by what she had said. In fact, he seemed completely normal.

"Thanks. Where'd you get the wine?"

"Lemon stole it from home. Her dad doesn't keep much watch on the boxed wine stock; it was what her momma used to drink so he wouldn't notice or anythin'." He poured her a glass and she took a sip. Her mom had allowed her to have a glass of wine every now and then at dinner. Not the most responsible parenting technique, she will admit, but she enjoyed wine. Box wine was definitely not the best but it would do.

"I never thought I would end up drinking box wine when I moved down here. I thought it was going to be sweet tea and ponies." Wade snorted, wine coming out of his nose.

"Small towns always seem to get a little crazy, not much else to do here," he said once he had cleaned himself up a bit. "Do you miss New York?"

"Honestly, no. I really thought I would but my mom wasn't home often and it was very lonely. You were surrounded by thousands of people and could still feel completely alone. The friends I had were not real friends, it turns out. I haven't heard from a single one of them since I've moved here. I love my life here, I love my friends." Wade smiled to himself, satisfied with her answer. He was always wondering if she would up and leave if she got the chance. His fears were put to rest.

A few hours and copious amounts of wine later, Zoe was all giggles again. She had finally put on Wade's hoodie after the temperature dropped with the sunset.

"You know, I once read that the world's largest clam is the Tridacna Derasa found in the South Pacific," she said, proud that she had remembered the name.

Wade laughed. "You're a nerd, Doc!"

"Hey!" she pouted. He laughed again and tweaked her nose. She scrunched up her face.

"You wanna go out and sit on the old porch swing? It should be pretty stable." She nodded and he helped her up.

They sat close to each other but this time with enough space that they weren't touching. Zoe played with her cup and after a few minutes of silence, she put her hand down next to her. Wade noticed and put his down, next to hers. Their pinkies were touching.

"It's so peaceful here," she commented.

"Yeah, it is. I could easily live here, maybe one day if it ever gets restored." He moved his hand slightly so that his pinky was covering hers. He wrapped it around her finger. It was such an intimate feeling. He had never experienced anything like it before. Suddenly completely sober, he felt the electricity coursing through his veins. He slowly moved her hand under his and she intertwined their fingers. She looked up at him and gave him a small, nervous smile. Turning towards her, he took his other hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. The last time this happened, she almost broke his nose. He hoped for a different outcome this time. He slowly leaned in and her eyes fluttered closed. Their lips touched lightly.

"Wade!" They pulled away quickly.

"Dammit Tucker! What do you want?" George was around the corner, he hadn't seen them kissing but his voice had interrupted them. He stepped into view and they looked at him.

"We were gonna play truth or dare. Came to check if you wanted to join?"

"Uh… yeah… ok, thanks George. We'll be right there," Zoe said. She sounded disappointed. Wade stood up, pulling her up with him.

"No." Zoe looked up at him and George looked confused.

"I've been waitin' to do this for a long time and somethin' keeps gettin' in the way but I ain't lettin' anythin' stop us this time. Come on, Zo." He dragged her off the porch, towards the trees. She chewed on her lower lip and started giggling as he dragged her through the woods.

"We'll join you in a bit Tucker!" Wade called back behind him as he and Zoe made their way through the trees. Finally stopping, Wade pulled her in front of him. He held both her hands and she looked up at him, her eyes wide with expectation.

"I uh…" he took one hand from hers and rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "Uh… Dammit Zoe. I like you. Ok. There. I said it. I jus' couldn' hold it in anymore. And I think you like me too but maybe the way you are with me is just how girls from New York act. Maybe it's normal to spend so much time with a guy and to always be touchin' him and sleepin' in his bed and stayin' up all night. So we can go back to being friends if that's that case."

"You done?" Zoe asked. He thought for a second and nodded.

"Good. Cause I like you, Wade Kinsella. I really like you. We've had all these moments but I figured you could never feel that way about me cause I know that I am a hand full and neurotic and sometimes I am too bossy and I do that but…" She couldn't finish because he cut her off with his lips. She felt like she was on fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her close, snaking his hands around her waist. After a while, he ran his tongue along her lower lip, begging for access and she obliged. They stayed like that until air became the first priority. They pulled away, reluctantly and stood there, foreheads resting against each other.

"Wow," she said breathlessly.

"Yeah." He smirked. "I was so nervous to tell you and now I kinda feel stupid that I took so long. Can't believe I've been missin' out that all this time. Damn Doc, if I knew you were such a good kisser, I would have kissed you that first night like I wanted to!"

"I knew it! I knew you wanted to kiss me that night!"

"And every night since then," he said shyly. The butterflies inside her stomach went crazy and she beamed up at him, warming his heart.

"So…"

"So… we should probably get back to the others," she said.

"Yeah, we should."

"Yeah."

He kissed her again and they only made their way back to the gate house an hour later, hand in hand.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Honestly have no idea what is going on with this website. All stories that get posted don't work sometimes for a while so I am reposting this. Hopefully it will work.**

Approaching the gate house, they could hear screams. Walking in, they saw Lemon gesticulating wildly with Lavon and George standing on opposite sides of the room. AB was leaning against the kitchen counter, tears in her eyes.

"You kissed AB? How could you do that?" Lemon was shouting. Zoe and Wade were not sure who she was talking to as both boys had kissed her. George shouted back.

"Well I know that you have been with Lavon. What did you expect me to do?"

"I certainly did not expect you to make out with my best friend!"

"So I'm just meant to be ok with you making out with my best friend but you are allowed to not be ok with me kissing AB?" Lemon opened and closed her mouth like a fish, not knowing what to say.

"You need to figure this out Lemon. I am not waiting around for you forever." Lavon was the one speaking now. AB was now full on sobbing. Zoe dropped Wade's hand and walked to her, pulling her into a hug. Poor girl was dragged into this messy situation and she seemed to be thrown between the guys depending on which one Lemon was more interested in at the time. The other three started yelling at the same time and Wade had had enough.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. Everyone looked at him. "Lemon, you need to cut the crap. You cannot string these two along anymore cause you can't make up your mind. AB is in tears cause you two," he pointed to George and Lavon, "are pulling her along like she's silly putty. Make up your damn minds already. Honestly, which idiot suggested Truth or Dare when you are in some weird love rectangle or whatever this is. Obviously it was gonna get messy! Sort it out. Now, Zoe and I are goin' back to the carriage house and you are gonna sit down and talk. You are gonna lose each other as friends if you don' stop messing about. Come find us when you've decided what to do." He walked to the door and Zoe followed. Grabbing her hand, he walked outside.

Walking to the carriage house, Zoe was staring at Wade intently.

"What?" he asked, cringing at how mad he had sounded.

"Who knew Wade Kinsella would be the one mature enough to make them talk it out," she teased.

"Hey, I resent that. I'm plenty mature!"

"Mmhmm, sure!" He dropped her hand, picked her up and threw him over his shoulder. She laughed as he ran to the carriage house. Once inside, he put her down and backed her towards the wall. He put his hands on her face and pressed himself against her.

"I can be mature," he whispered. She bit her lip, nodding.

He kissed her, softly at first but soon the intensity increased. She slipped her hands under his shirt, rubbing her hands up his back. He made a sound in his throat that she could only describe as a low growl. He moved his mouth to her neck and she moaned. He moved his arms to around her waist, bringing his mouth back to hers and she smiled into him. He moved his mouth back to her neck and started sucking gently on a spot above her collar bone.

Suddenly, she pulled away, hands still wrapped around him.

"Wade, I can't. I… It's too fast." He nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry Zo, you're just so amazing and finally being able to do this, I got carried away."

"It wasn't just you, I got carried away too but… I think we need to talk about some things." She moved away from the wall and pulled him to the porch swing they had been sitting on earlier. She took his hand in hers and sat silently for a few minutes.

"Wade," she started, quietly, "I really like you but well… When you kiss me, my whole body feels like it's on fire and when things got heated in there, I wanted to go further which scares me. I mean, we only got together a few hours ago. I've liked you for a really long time but you know, this is new. I am not…" she hesitated, "experienced and I just… I'm not ready to do anything other than kissing. I hope that is enough for you. You've never talked to me about this stuff but I know about your reputation and Lemon and George told me some things."

Wade sat for a while, Zoe watching him. He opened his mouth a few times to say something but never did. The more time went on, the more Zoe was starting to freak out. She had hoped he would want her and not someone more willing but the longer he just sat there, the more she started realizing that that was not the case. Her eyes burned as the tears started to form. He squeezed her hand and took a deep, audible breath, finally ready to talk.

"I'm a virgin." She looked at him, confused.

"I've never even seen a girl naked. Well, uh… other than you." She blushed at the memory.

"I don't understand? George said… and all the girls… and… you said I didn't look any different to the girls down here?"

"I knew if I played it off like it wasn' a big deal, you'd be more likely to forgive me for starin' at ya."

"But all the girls? They… I thought you slept with them? The way they acted around you?"

"I mean, yeah. I've kissed a lot of girls." Zoe scrunched up her nose and he smiled slightly before continuing, "but the furthest I've gone is some… uh… over the bra… fondling."

"Why keep up the façade?"

"Fancy word, Doc," he winked. She glared at him slightly and he continued. "It's easier to live with being known as the town playboy than the son of Crazy Earl, town drunk." She squeezed his hand, finally understanding.

"How did no one ever find out? No one in Bluebell can ever keep a secret!"

"When I was 14, the rumors started after I was caught kissing a girl under the bleachers. The rumors escalated and eventually, it was going around school that Mrs. Whittaker had caught us… you know, in the act. The girl had left town by then, moved to Idaho. Things were really bad with my dad at that time; Jesse had jus' left and he wasn' dealin' with it well so I let everyone believe what they wanted. Soon, everyone was talkin' bout that and no one was talkin' bout him. None of the girls I kissed ever said anythin' cause they didn' wanna be the 'only girl that could never get Wade Kinsella in bed,'" he said, with a bitter chuckle. Zoe rubbed her thumb along his hand.

"Funny thin' is, if they were more open to gossipin' bout it, they would have found out that I never did anythin' with any of 'em."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" He shrugged.

"I… I honestly don' know, Zo. I wanted to. That first night, you fell asleep after you asked about it. And at Old Babcock Pond, I could see you wanted to ask what I meant by that comment but you were too drunk, I wasn' gonna tell you then."

"Thank you for telling me," she whispered. He kissed her forehead, pulling her closer.

They sat in silence, Zoe resting her head on his shoulder with his arm around her.

"Uh… can I… I just… I wanted to know… Uh…" she stuttered, breaking the silence.

"Spit it out, Doc," he said, chuckling. She sat up and looked at him.

"Why… did you never? I mean, you obviously had girls… willing?" She looked down, blushing.

"My parents met when they were 13 and were only ever with each other. I wish you could have seen him when she was alive, Zo. He loved her so so much. That's why he drinks like he does; he can't cope with the pain of his soul mate being gone. When my momma got sick, I would lie with her and she'd tell me stories about them. Even though I thought it was gross," he laughed, swallowing hard. "I… I know this is gonna sound lame but… I want that. I'm not sayin' I'll marry the girl I eventually lose it to cause who knows what'll happen but… I want… more than just sex."

Zoe smiled at him; she loved how vulnerable he was willing to be around her. She knew it was something that only they shared, that he'd never spoken like this to anyone. It made her feel special. She leaned over and gave him a light kiss.

Pulling away, he said, "I know you think I'm pretty pathetic right now. I mean, what kind of guy speaks like this? But I've never felt comfortable to talk about this with anyone. Until now." She moved closer to him and snuggled into his chest.

"Please don't feel like that. If anything, it makes me like you more." He smiled into her hair and hugged her tight.

After a while of staring over the water, Zoe whispered, "What you were talking about? It meaning something? I want that too."

"Good to know," he whispered back. In that moment, Wade hoped to himself that she would be that girl. He knew he was slowly falling in love with her and while it should have scared him, it didn't. Little did he know, Zoe was thinking the same thing.

Eventually, Lavon made his way over to the porch swing.

"We have all talked," Lavon said.

"And?" Wade asked.

"It wasn' easy but we were honest and open. Lemon and I are gonna try things out and George and AB are taking some time to work out their feelings but are looking to go on a date next week."

"A little weird but I'm glad you've sorted it out." Lavon nodded and turned to walk back to the gate house.

"Glad you two finally admitted your feelings! Lavon Hayes thinks it's about damn time!" he called, turning back as he walked away. Zoe blushed and giggled. Wade lifted her chin and kissed her slowly. Pulling away, they looked into each other's eyes and smiling. Today had been the perfect start to their relationship and as Lavon had said, it was about damn time.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Zoe and Wade entered the gate house, holding hands and laughing. They had slept on the floor of the carriage house. After their talk, they didn't stay up much longer. They had lay on the uncomfortable floor just talking and eventually fell asleep. The rest of the group were getting ready to have breakfast, Lemon laying out all the breakfast foods she had packed. They all looked up when the new couple walked in.

"Nice hickey, Zoe," George said and the rest burst out laughing. Her eyes widened and she looked at Wade with panic in her eyes. He looked down at her neck and saw a red mark in the spot he had sucked on the previous night before she had pushed him away. He started smirking proudly and Zoe smacked his arm.

"It's not so bad Zo… If anythin', I think it's sexy," he said, winking at her. She glared at him.

"Oh, well that makes me feel better," she said, her voice full of relief. Wade eyed her suspiciously, not quite sure what to make of her sudden change in demeanor.

"So you'll be the one to explain to Harley why his daughter has a hickey, then?" she asked cheerfully as she skipped to where the food was. She grabbed an apple and smiled innocently at him. The smirk was knocked right off his face. She smiled victoriously, taking a bite of her apple.

The rest of the day was spent swimming and playing card games. It had been a relaxing day and now that the relationship issues between Lavon, George, Lemon and AB were resolved, there was a better atmosphere. Zoe was enjoying being able to act like a couple with Wade. Before, they would constantly be near each other but the touches between them were completely innocent and friendly. Well, at least it wasn't meant to be perceived in any other way, even if the entire town could see it. Now, they were holding hands, stealing kisses and while they were swimming, Wade had swam up behind her like the previous day but this time, he wrapped his arms around her and they stayed like that until they got out. Eventually, at around 3 o clock, it was time to go home. Zoe and Wade were suddenly reserved because they didn't know the next time they would be able to see each other, other than through their window. Even though that would be amazing as always, Wade still wanted to be able to hold her and kiss her. Lemon promised that they would organize another get together soon so that they could have time together. Hopefully Harley would come around soon but Zoe was sure if he saw the hickey on her neck that it would not happen anytime soon.

George was going to drop the girls off at AB's house and Lemon and Zoe were going to walk home, Lemon living just a block away from Zoe. Wade and Zoe stood outside AB's house, staring deep into each other's eyes.

"This is stupid. I don't know why I'm so sad to say goodbye to you," Zoe mumbled.

"I feel the same way, Doc," he mumbled back. She moved into his arms and nestled into his chest.

"I'm going to see you in like… an hour." She breathed in deep, taking in his scent.

"I know and I can't wait. But it's gonna suck cause all I wanna do is hold you and I don' know when I'll be able to do that again." She sniffed as he said that. He kissed the top of her head and lifted her head up, placing a finger under her chin. He swallowed, his heart aching. She was looking up at him with those big eyes. He leaned in and kissed her gently. He pulled away, kissed her forehead, whispered goodbye and walked to George's truck.

"Wow, Kinsella. I never thought I'd see this day. You've turned into complete mush," George said, a smile playing on his lips. Wade reddened and mumbled shut up as George backed out of the drive way.

"I'm happy for you, man."

"Thanks Tucker," Wade replied with a big smile. "I'm happy all that drama with Lemon is over. I think AB is good for you."

"I think so too," George said, turning up the radio.

As Lemon and Zoe walked home, Lemon was pushing for details about Wade.

"Is he a good kisser? I bet he is. He looks like he would be a good kisser and I've heard that he's a good kisser," she babbled excitedly. Zoe laughed.

"He is a great kisser! He makes me feel lightheaded and woozy and like I'm floating on a cloud all at the same time," she gushed.

"I like him so much Lemon. I have never felt this way before and I've been feeling like this for such a long time but now that I can finally say it, it feels so good."

"I'm happy for you, Zoe!"

"Thanks. I'm scared though, I can feel myself falling for him and it's so soon! Mainly I'm scared because I don't feel scared. Does that make sense?" Lemon nodded and Zoe continued, "He's just so amazing. He shows me this side to him that he shows no one else but he still infuriates me sometimes which I secretly love and makes me laugh till I have tears running down my face. He is so inappropriate sometimes and then in the next breath, he is so sincere. I want to be around him all the time and I miss him already! How crazy is that?"

"It's not crazy! Sounds like exactly what it should be like. And if it helps, I have never seen him this way about a girl before. The way he looks at you and acts around you. It's good to see."

Zoe smiled as they walked, listening to Lemon tell the story about the previous night. It sounded like Lavon was the better choice. He brought out a side of her that George never could and she sounded truly happy when talking about him. Zoe knew she made the right decision and she was happy for Lavon too.

Zoe walked into the house and flung her hair over her shoulder, hoping Harley wouldn't notice the hickey. He was sitting reading on the couch when she walked in.

"Hi Harley."

"Zoe, dear. How was your night?"

"It was great thanks."

"That's good. I was hoping you and I could have an early dinner at the Rammer Jammer tonight?"

"Sounds good. I'll go shower and get ready." He nodded as he watched her walk upstairs. Zoe sighed in relief that he didn't notice her neck but knew it was going to be more difficult to hide at dinner. She walked straight to the window and saw that Wade wasn't in his room. Slightly disappointed, she went into the bathroom and started the shower.

When she got out of the shower, she got dressed in the bathroom and went back into her room. She noticed there was a paper plane lying on her floor. She wasn't sure if it was there before her shower or not. She opened it quickly; ripping is slightly as she rushed to get it unfolded. _Wally called. Have to go to RJ. Hopefully you'll be awake when I get back x_

Excited, Zoe put extra effort into her outfit, styling her hair carefully over her shoulder. Walking into the Rammer Jammer with Harley, she had butterflies. She didn't think Wade would come and greet her because of Harley but at least she would get to see him. When Wade noticed her, his face lit up. He gave a small wave which she reciprocated. She felt Harley stiffen next to her when he saw him.

Wade had stayed away during dinner but when they finished, he had to clear the plates.

"Good evening Dr Wilkes, Zoe," he greeted, looking at her.

"Wade." Harley responded shortly.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" he asked, making awkward small talk. Harley just nodded. Zoe gave him an apologetic smile and he shrugged one shoulder, smiling and walking away once he had cleared the table.

"I do not like that boy," Harley stated.

"You didn't have a problem with him a few days ago," Zoe said, trying to sound nonchalant. She had to tell him at some point but it didn't seem like a good idea just yet.

"Well, yes that was before I caught him in bed with my daughter."

"You make it sound like we were caught having sex. I told you, nothing happened. We were just friends."

"Were?" Harley questioned, looking into her eyes. She blushed and played with her hair, trying to think of how to back track.

"Um… well you see…" Harley held up his hand and she stopped talking. When he spoke, he was using the scary calm voice that he had used a few days ago.

"What is on your neck?" She realized that she had been playing with her hair. She wanted to smack her forehead for being so careless but instead she just adjusted her hair.

"I uh… I burnt it on my flat iron." He lifted his hand and moved her hair out of the way. Zoe looked around and saw Wade watching the interaction standing near the bar.

"This is the most interesting burn I have ever seen, Zoe. You sure it's a burn?" Zoe gulped and nodded. Harley turned and faced Wade. Zoe couldn't see what his facial expression looked like but the look on Wade's face told her it was not a friendly one. Harley pulled out money and put it on the table.

"Time to go, young lady. We will not have this discussion in public." Zoe followed him out, not glancing back to see Wade.

Back at the house, Harley was pacing while Zoe sat on the couch.

"I want you to explain to me how exactly you got that mark."

"Um… Well... Wade and I were kissing."

"Last I checked, kissing involved your lips, not your neck."

"Yes. Uh… well we were kissing and then… then…"

Harley looked at her, waiting for an answer. She couldn't finish.

"I want to know, Zoe."

"I don't see why I have to tell you when you already can deduce what happened from what I said."

"How long have you and Wade been… " his voice faded, not finishing his sentence.

"We got together yesterday. Nothing ever happened before that, I promise. I liked him and he liked me but we only told each other how we felt yesterday."

"So you got together yesterday and you already had sex?" he asked, his voice getting angrier.

"WHAT? NO! We did not have sex!" Zoe yelled.

"Well then why did he give you that… that mark?"

"We were kissing and then he started kissing my neck. It didn't go further. We just got a bit carried away."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"I believe you. Does he make you happy?"

Zoe nodded.

"Does he treat you right?"

"Like a Princess."

Harley sighed. "I suppose I cannot stop you two from seeing each other now that he is your boyfriend. You may see him without having to be in a group. But he is not allowed in your bedroom and you are not allowed in his. Understand?" Zoe nodded and grinned at him.

Just then, Wade ran into the house, not bothering to knock. He was out of breath.

"Dr Wilkes, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to give Zoe a hickey. We just got so carried away and I swear, it won' happen again! Well… I mean… it will probably happen again but I'll try not give her a hickey next time." Zoe smacked her head with her hand, shaking her head at his stupidity. He kept babbling, "I mean… no… that's not what I meant. Uh… I mean your daughter is very beautiful and I like kissin' her. No… I mean that's not the only thin' I like, I like doin' other things with her..." Harley raised his eyebrows at that. "I just meant you know like talkin' to her and spendin' time with her, not _other things_ although I'm sure those other things are good too but we haven' done that yet. Did I say yet? Um… not yet, I didn' mean to add the yet." He was rambling so badly and looked to Zoe with pleading eyes.

"Wade, stop talking," Harley said.

"Sorry."

"Now Zoe and I had already sorted things out and she told me that you two were together before you came in and gave that… speech. While I am not happy with this whole situation, I have been able to see for a long time now that you both care for each other deeply. You will look after her?"

"Of course!"

"Ok good. In that case, I have some rules. Have a seat." Wade sat down on the opposite end of the couch to Zoe.

"1. You are not allowed in her bedroom and vice versa. 2. Her curfew will be 10pm on week nights once school starts and midnight on weekends. 3. You will be joining us for dinner once a week, at least. I want to get to know the boy my daughter is dating beyond your medical file and the rumors. Speaking of those rumors, that brings me to the 4th and final rule. If you hurt her, I will… make your life unpleasant in ways you cannot foresee. Understand?" Wade gulped.

"Yes sir."

"Ok good, now go home son." Wade stood up and headed for the door.

"Oh and Wade?" Harley called behind him. Wade turned around.

"Yes sir?" he asked, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"You can call me Harley." Wade smiled, gave a small nod and walked out the door. Zoe stood up and gave Harley a big hug.

"Thank you Dad!" Harley was taken aback at her sudden use of the word. He hugged her tighter and they stood like that for a while until she went up to her room. Wade was waiting, sitting on his window sill. She settled into her usual spot and they spoke until the birds started singing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: This story is rated T for a reason, fair warning for now and future chapters. A bit of a longer A/N at the end. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews! I love all the positivity! Next chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow or Monday, depending on how quickly the inspiration strikes. **

It was 3 weeks before school started and Zoe and Wade spent as much time together as possible. He would come over on Wednesdays for dinner and usually stay and watch a movie once Harley went to bed. Harley was getting used to the idea of Wade being with Zoe but quite liked having a boy around the house to talk to. He also was very handy, fixing things around the house. He still wasn't entirely happy with Wade being his daughter's boyfriend but he was getting there. Even though they liked to spend as much time with each other as possible, they still made time for their other friends and made an effort to spend time alone with them without the other around. The last thing they wanted was to become one of those couples that couldn't be apart.

One Wednesday night, they had cleaned up after Harley made dinner and were sitting on the couch chatting to him. Eventually he went to bed and the two moved closer to each other. Wade started the movie, some action with a lot of explosions. Zoe rolled her eyes. He always got to pick the movie for some reason. Half way through, Zoe was bored. She looked over to Wade and he was really into it. She scooted closer and kissed his cheek. He didn't respond. She kissed his neck, hoping to get a response from him. Still nothing.

"Wade," she whispered as seductively as possible.

"Hmm?" he responded without moving his eyes from the TV. She was getting annoyed. She put her hand on his knee and whispered his name in his ear again.

"Shhh, Doc. I'm watchin'." She scowled at him. Game on. She slid her hand up his arm, slowly. She saw his eyes shift down to follow the movement but he didn't move. Once she got to his shoulder, she took one finger and traced a pattern on the part of his chest that was showing. She saw him swallow.

"I'm bored," she stated, her mouth back on his neck, hand still on his chest. He put his hand on hers, tugged it and pulled her onto his lap. He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her. They kissed for the rest of the movie, his hands staying either in her hair or on her hips. Eventually, they pulled apart for the final time, their lips swollen.

"You need to shave," she moaned. Her mouth was all red and he laughed. He showered her with kisses all over her face, making sure to rub her with his stubble as he did it. She laughed as well. She loved how playful he was sometimes.

"It's almost midnight," he stated after their laughter died down. She pouted. He moved her off his lap and stood up. She walked with him to the door. He kissed her again, long and hard. He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. She followed him and kissed him again.

"I'll see you in 2 minutes," she said as she let his hand go. He had just gotten down the porch stairs when he turned to see if she had gone back inside. She ran down the stairs and practically jumped into his arms. She kissed him passionately one last time. Leaning against the railing, she watched him walk to his house. Once he was inside, she sprinted inside and upstairs into her room to see him standing there in his room, waiting for her.

Whenever he was working, Zoe would sit at the bar in the Rammer Jammer waiting for him to go on break. When he did, they would sneak behind the building and make out until Wally called him back in, leaving him blushing and her fixing her hair. They never went further than kissing and they were happy with that. Their relationship was more than just about making out till they couldn't breathe even though that part was enjoyable. Wade took her to Fancies one night, the Rammer Jammer sometimes and they went to movies in Mobile. They would often have double, sometimes triple, dates with Lavon, Lemon, George and AB. He was always the perfect gentleman, pulling her chair out for her or insisting on paying but then just as those things seemed to come naturally to him, so did the sometimes inappropriate comments. They always managed to make her flustered so he liked to time them at the most inconvenient moments just to see her reaction and how she would try hide it around people.

One particular moment still made Zoe blush when she thought of it. Her, Lemon and AB were at the Rammer Jammer having milkshakes and Wade was working. She was telling them about how she had blurted out in front of some patients that the mayor had to have some tests done for STDs. She wasn't meant to know but she had the file and blurted it out as she read it. Brick was so mad that he banned her from the practice until school started.

"Oh Zoe, your big mouth always seems to get you into trouble," AB had said while laughing. Wade had walked past as she said that.

He bent down and whispered into Zoe's ear, "That ain't the only thin' your mouth is good for." He had walked away and winked at her as she turned blood red.

The Saturday before school started, Wade was over at her house. They were in the kitchen doing the dishes when Harley had to rush out to Mobile as one of his patients went into labor.

"I won't be home but that doesn't mean the curfew is later than midnight. Understood?" Both teens nodded at him. After being sure he was gone, Wade came up behind Zoe and hugged her tight. He kissed her neck and she leaned back, her arm sliding up, resting in his hair. He turned her around so that she was facing him.

"Hi," he breathed. She laughed.

"Hi."

He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She moaned into the kiss, opening her mouth and he slid his tongue in. With the intensity growing, he lifted her up onto the kitchen counter. Not breaking the kiss, he ran his hands up her legs, stopping at the hem of her skirt. Lifting her off the counter, he carried her to the couch, her legs wrapped tight around him. He laid her down on the couch and climbed on top of her. This was brand new territory, they both had always been cautious to not get themselves into this position because they knew they would get carried away. Zoe slipped her hands under his shirt, running them up his back much like she had done that first night. He put one hand under her shirt but stopped at her belly button. She took one hand out of his shirt and put it on his, moving it up slowly. He pulled away and looked at her. She nodded and kissed him again, letting his hand go, moving her own back to his shirt, this time to the front.

He slid his hand over her bra and she moaned slightly. She moved her other hand to the front of his shirt and started working on the buttons. He made a low sound and kissed her neck. After a while, they were lying there with no shirts and Zoe was in just her bra. They were breathing heavily but they carried on kissing and exploring each other's upper bodies. Eventually Wade's hands slid to her back, his hands resting on the clasp of her bra. Hesitating briefly, he undid it and removed the garment from her body, his hand sliding back to her bare chest. This was new for both of them. After a long time of kissing each other all over, they pulled away, looking into each other's eyes. They did not want to rush anything and for tonight, this new step was enough. They lay there for a while, both shirtless with Zoe lying on top of him, talking. She was playing with the cross he was wearing; the one he had told her belonged to his mom. Finally, when it was nearing midnight, they both got dressed. Wade kissed her softly and pulled her in for a hug. They stood like that for a while before going into their houses and meeting once again at their windows.

Zoe was nervous for the start of school on Monday morning but Wade was waiting outside her door when she left, making her feel better. They walked hand in hand to CLJJ High School where they met their friends. It was a small school so Zoe had all but one class with Wade and the one she didn't, she had Lavon. All in all, it was a good start and she was excited to get studying and working hard so she that could get into a good college so she could start her journey to becoming a doctor. She sat by Wade during all their classes and when he started messing around, she made sure he went back to focusing on his work, which he did even if he wasn't happy about it. That afternoon, they went back to her house so they could do homework. Wade kept trying to distract her by playing with her hair or kissing her neck but she kept pushing him away, promising him that when they were done they could make out all he wanted. After she said that, he buckled down and didn't look up until he was done. When they were done, Wade picked her up and threw her onto the couch, this time his hand riding dangerously high up her skirt. Zoe wanted more but they had agreed to take it slow so when she felt that his hand was too high, she pushed it away. She was worried that he might get mad but he apologized and carried on kissing her, hands roaming but not moving lower than her hips.

That night, when they were sitting at their windows, Zoe brought what had happened that afternoon.

"Are you ok with the speed we are taking things?" she asked nervously, playing with a pillow.

"Yeah, of course. Look, I'm sorry for pushin' the boundary a bit today; I jus' sometimes can't help myself when it comes to you. You're insanely hot, you know that?" She laughed and felt her cheeks flush.

"You're insanely hot too and I do want to take that next step with you but I like the pace we are going at now. I mean we only just went to a new level on Saturday."

"I get it, Zo. I promise, you don' have to feel that I'm not happy doin' what we doin'. Trust me, I am more than happy. I'm sure you can feel that." He winked at her and she went bright red at his innuendo.

"Well, yeah I can… but that's also part of the issue. I don't want you feeling… unsatisfied." She hated talking about this stuff, she felt so awkward but it was an important part of their relationship and she didn't want to not communicate. He chuckled.

"You don' gotta worry about that, Zo. I definitely don' feel unsatisfied with you. Even if one day you told me we couldn' kiss, I'd still not feel unsatisfied as long as I still got to be near you." She smiled at him, he was so sweet sometimes. You would never think just by looking at him that he could be so genuine. "When you're ready and I'm ready, we'll know and then we'll take that next step, ok?"

She nodded. She liked that he was understanding and she loved the fact that they were taking things slow and step by step. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her virginity too quickly. This way, they could still be together in an intimate sense, getting to know each other's bodies in other ways, trusting each other fully if and when it happened.

The next week, football and cheerleading had started. Lemon begged Zoe to become a cheerleader but she just laughed her off. There was no way she was going to prance around in those little skirts even if she was "the perfect size to throw into the air" according to Lemon. Wade was a little disappointed but he got excited when she told him she didn't need to be a cheerleader to wear the uniform just for him. He followed her around for the rest of the day, unable to keep his hands off her. She had just laughed and rolled her eyes at how easy he was to please.

The following Wednesday, after football practice, Wade was waiting for Zoe before he went to the locker room. She would normally wait for him and they would walk back together for dinner with Harley. A girl that he didn't recognize approached him.

"Hi, I'm Carrie," she said. He smiled politely and introduced himself. He wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying; he was looking around for Zoe.

"Am I boring you?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Oh uh… no, sorry, I didn' mean to be rude. I'm lookin' for my girlfriend; she's always here on a Wednesday." The girl's face fell and he smiled at her slightly.

Zoe was running late to watch Wade at football practice. She had been caught up with an assignment in the library. When she got there, she saw him standing by the bleachers talking to a girl. She saw him smile at her and she stormed off. That's when Wade caught sight of her.

"Look, I'm sorry but I gotta go. It was nice to meet you Karen."

"It's Carrie," she called as he ran in the direction Zoe was going.

He caught her when she had almost left the school grounds. He grabbed her hand and she turned and looked at him, she was mad.

"What the hell was that, Wade?"

"What are you talkin' about? You got your mad face on."

"You think just cause I'm not there waiting for you, it gives you the opportunity to flirt with the first girl that comes your way?"

"What? What girl?"

"The girl I saw you with by the bleachers. You were all over her." Wade looked at her, confused.

"I wasn' all over anyone, Doc. I was talkin' to this girl that came up to me but I didn' even hear what she had to say cause I was lookin' for you."

"Don't pretend Wade, I saw you." Her eyes filled with tears and she stormed off. He knew she needed time to cool off so he went to fetch his bag, not bothering to shower. He walked over to her house and opened the door, seeing it as a good sign that it wasn't locked. Harley was waiting for him when he opened the door, arms folded.

"Is there a reason Zoe ran in here saying that you were cheating on her, Wade? Because if I remember correctly, I told you that if you ever hurt her, you would regret it."

"Harley, I was waiting for her after football practice and this girl came and spoke to me. I don' even know her name and to be honest, I didn' even hear what she said because I was too busy lookin' for Zoe. I don' know why Zoe is bein' like this but I promise you that I am not cheatin' on her. I'd never do that!"

Harley sighed, looking at the young man standing there. He looked genuinely upset.

"Sometimes, she gets a bit moody. She's in her room. This is the ONE exception I am making to allow you into her room and the door will be kept open." Wade nodded and made his way up the stairs.

Her door was open but he knocked anyway, in case she was changing again. She mumbled come in and he stepped inside. She was lying on her bed, cradling a pillow. He sat down and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Doc?" She didn't look at him.

"Zoe, come on." She looked up, her eyes welling up, the tears threatening to slip out.

"I'm sorry," she said, sitting up. "I was jealous. I know I was being stupid but when I saw that girl talking to you, I just freaked out." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Baby, why are you cryin'?" he asked, wiping her cheek.

"Because I am so into you it's not even funny," she confessed.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yes!"

"Why, Zo?"

"Because I was jealous of a girl talking to you. I KNOW you would never cheat on me but just seeing that made me feel crazy."

"I'm still not seein' the bad here, Doc?"

"Because I feel things for you that I never thought I would ever feel for anyone and it scares me. I never thought I would be the jealous type but here I am, distraught just cause you were speaking to another girl. When did I become that girl?"

Wade smiled taking her into his arms and lay back on her bed. She lay with her head on his chest while he stroked her hair.

"I like that you're that girl, Zo."

"Ok good. Cause as long as we're together, it looks as if she's here to stay."

He chuckled. "Good to know, and coincidentally I find crazy kinda hot." He winked at her and she shoved him, laughing.

"YOU are the one that made me crazy, jerk!"

"Well lucky for you, that's the kinda crazy I find the hottest!"

She laughed and kissed him lightly.

They lay there for a while until she broke the silence.

"Hey, Wade?"

"Mmm?" he answered, enjoying the moment.

"Go shower before dinner. You stink." He laughed, jumping off the bed, kissing her on her head and walking out the room. He came back to the house half an hour later, clean and no longer smelling like a dirty gym sock. He was happy to see that she was smiling again.

**Author's note: So I don't want them to just go from zero to 100 in a split second, I want their physical relationship to move in stages and not just be like "hey, we've been kissing for a while and now we're having sex" because they are teenagers and it's important to both of them that they have something more than just that when (and if) it happens, like I said in the chapter. **

**I was going to have Wade be the jealous one but I feel we've seen him open up a lot to her and not so much her open up to him, unless he opened up first, so I decided to change it. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Next chapter will be up tomorrow morning. Enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and faves.**

Zoe soon settled in at school and her relationship with Wade was better than ever. They were happy but she wasn't blind to how the girls stared at her at school and sometimes she would hear them gossiping about her. When she walked around hand in hand with Wade, she received glares from everyone but he was oblivious to it all. She was relieved to see that he never looked at any other girl and when they approached him, he would brush them off dismissively.

The first couple months of school flew by and Wade and most of his teachers were shocked that he was averaging a B in all his classes. More than a few people were noticing how much of a good influence Zoe was on him. He worked hard every afternoon on his homework and always had his assignments handed in on time. He would even finish his homework on a Friday so that he had the whole weekend to be with her. She helped him study for tests and tutored him in Math because no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't grasp it like she could. He had never been attracted to smart girls before but he loved how smart she was. Sometimes he wondered if he was enough for her. He wasn't stupid by any means and was smart in other ways like being able to rewire a fuse box or fix his car, which was giving him more issues lately, but he found himself thinking every now and then if she would ever want someone who could amount to more, like a lawyer or a doctor, like she wanted to be. She never gave him any reason to think that, of course, but he knew she deserved the world and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to give it to her.

The Friday afternoon before Planksgiving, Wade was at his house trying to get an assignment done. Zoe and AB had gone to Mobile for the evening. He was struggling to keep focused as his mind kept drifting off to thoughts of what would happen to him and Zoe when she went off to college. He knew that he would never be able to move out of Bluebell, not with his dad being the way that he was. He shook his head in frustration, knowing that so much could happen by the end of senior year, it was still another year and a half before they were done with school. Who even knew whether or not he and Zoe would still be together by then. He obviously hoped that would be the case but a lot could change in such a long time. They had been together for 3 and a half months now and they were really happy. They still hadn't taken that next physical step and Wade was finding it more difficult to control himself every time they were in heavy make out mode. He didn't want her to feel pressured so lately, he hadn't let the kissing get too heated and avoided the couch at all costs, even though both were difficult to stop and he hated not being able to kiss her like he wanted to. He even let her choose the movies with no argument because when he chooses, she always gets bored and they end up with one or both shirtless. Not being able to concentrate on his assignment anymore due to all his thoughts, he put his pen down and went to grab his guitar.

Zoe and AB were getting manicures in Mobile and were going to see a movie when they were done. Zoe loved having a girlfriend who she could do all this stuff with. That was one thing she missed about her mom; back in New York when she was not busy with fancy showbiz parties or clients, they would get manicures or pedicures and talk about boys.

"How are things going with George, AB?" Zoe asked.

"So well, I am really happy. He is such a gentleman. Its weird how I've been around him at school all these years but I never thought of him as anything more than a friend. I'm glad that changed though. How are things with Wade?"

Zoe smiled at the mention of his name.

"They are still going well and I think Harley finally likes him even if he won't admit it," she replied.

"You don't sound as enthusiastic as you normally do? Usually, you babble on and on and I need to remind you to take a breath?" Zoe sighed audibly.

"I don't know AB, I don't know if he's happy with me anymore. I don't wanna go into too much detail but he is usually very physical, always touching me and kissing me and when we're alone, we normally can't keep our hands off of each other. But lately… he doesn't kiss me as much and when he does, it's not as… intense. We haven't… done the other stuff we normally do in almost 2 weeks."

"You mean sex?"

"NO! AB! What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"Well… you're Wade Kinsella's girl." Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Wade isn't like that, AB," she said, getting angry.

"Yeah, ok sure. I've heard the stories, Zoe."

"You don't know what you're talking about. You shouldn't listen to what people say." Zoe stood up, trying to control her anger.

"Why shouldn't I listen to what Joelle, Daisy, Lily Anne and every other girl at CLJJ says? They've all said they've slept with him so… what am I meant to believe? There are A LOT of stories about the infamous Wade Kinsella."

"Sometimes things aren't what they seem, AB," Zoe said softly, sitting back down. AB wasn't going to push her to talk and just nodded.

Zoe was still mad at AB but figured a movie would be good to calm her down. They were standing outside the theater waiting to buy their tickets when Zoe heard a group of girls nearby say Wade's name. She turned and looked at them and saw some of them were pointing at her.

"That's her, she's from New York" one of the blonde girls that Zoe recognized from school said. Another two girls who she did not know looked at her with disgust.

"She must have learnt some tricks in New York to be able to impress him enough in bed if she managed to get him to stay with her for longer than one night. She's not even that pretty and definitely not his usual type." Zoe felt the tears form in her eyes and she swallowed hard to try stop them from falling.

Zoe told AB that she wasn't up for a movie so they drove home in awkward silence, AB trying to make small talk as they drove but Zoe just stared out of the window.

When she got home, she went straight to Wade's house. Harley was fishing and wouldn't be home until late that night. She let herself in and walked past Earl who was passed out on the couch. She heard soft music coming from his room and opened the door without knocking. He was sitting on his bed, playing his guitar. He looked at her when she walked in, stopped playing but didn't put his guitar down.

"Harley would be real mad if he saw you in my room, Doc."

"I had a fight with AB," she said and she moved closer. She had tears in her eyes. Wade got up and put his guitar back on its stand before walking towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Her hands were up against his chest and she started crying.

"What was the fight about, Zo?"

"Sometimes it's really hard being your girlfriend," she simply stated in response. He let her go and stepped back, looking hurt.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he snapped back.

"She assumed that we were having sex and when I told her that wasn't the case she didn't believe me. And then when we were standing outside the theater, these girls were talking about me saying that I must have some sort of fancy New York tricks to be able to keep you interested for more than one night. All of this because of YOUR reputation. Do you have any idea how difficult it is sometimes to walk down the hallway at school and see all the girls looking at me? Or how hard it is to have my own father look at me when I come home from a date with you and all I can see in his eyes is worry because he's wondering if I'm at least being safe and responsible. I get it Wade, I do. I know it's easier to be the town playboy than the son of the town drunk but sometimes it's not easier for ME."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" He was shouting.

"I want you to show them that it's different with me than the other girls," she shouted back.

"And how else am I meant to do that? I've been with you for almost 4 months, I show everyone that you're my girl; I have never done that with anyone before. Short of standing up in the middle of the Rammer Jammer announcin' that I'm a virgin, there is nothin' more I can do to show them that things are different."

"I want you to show ME that it's different."

"What? How can you say that? Zoe, you know that it's different. I've confided in you and told you things I've never told anyone. All those girls, they were just one night things where we kissed at a party or after school. Those kisses meant nothin' and with you… they mean somethin' every time. You cannot for one minute stand here and tell me you don' feel I don' treat you different to those other girls! And I didn' notice everyone was glarin' at you or gosspin' about you cause that is how little they matter, I don' even notice them. You are the only girl I see."

"Well then why don't you kiss me like you used to anymore?" The tears were flowing hot and fast down her cheeks. She saw him blush.

"I'm not stupid Wade; I can tell something is different."

"So this is what this whole stupid fight is about then? It's not about what other people are sayin' or thinkin'. Why didn' you just ask me that out right in the firs' place?"

Zoe opened her mouth once to speak but decided against it. She turned around and left his room, slamming the door behind her. She made sure the front door was locked before she went upstairs. When he wasn't in his room, she assumed that he had followed her and tried to get into the house. She closed her window and drew her blinds. She did not want to talk to him right now. She knew she should have answered him and probably continued with the fight instead of storming off but she was scared that he was going to tell her that her fears were for good reason; that he didn't want to be with her anymore.

Zoe didn't leave the house for the rest of the weekend and her blinds remained shut. She heard him calling her name and throwing rocks against her window but she ignored him. AB had called that Saturday to apologize and they had sorted it out. When Monday came around, she left for school 20 minutes earlier than usual in order to avoid Wade waiting at her door like he always did. She was standing at her locker before homeroom when she saw him walk into the building. He walked straight passed her and headed for George. The rest of the morning was awkward to say the least. She sat next to him in all their classes but he had put his head down and worked quietly. Everyone had noticed that the couple wasn't their usual self and by lunch, rumors that they had broken up and why were flying around the school at record speed, even for Bluebell.

Zoe walked into the cafeteria and sat down by Lemon and AB. George, Lavon and Wade joined them eventually but Wade sat on the other end of the table. Lemon tried to enquire what had happened but both ignored her and avoided each other's gaze. The table next to them had the girl from Friday night as well as Joelle, who Zoe did not like. She always tried to get Wade's attention and she remembered how pushy she had seemed the first night she met Wade.

"I for one am glad they broke up," Joelle said loudly. Zoe looked up to see the group looking at her. Joelle continued talking, sounding obnoxious, "I've wanted to get back into bed with him and now I can!" The group laughed. Zoe looked at Wade and saw that he was looking down at his food but he had his hands balled up in fists and he was breathing deeply.

"I'm sure he'd be up for it tonight already," Joelle said, looking straight at Zoe. Zoe put her head down but snuck a glance at Wade. He pushed his food tray away and stood up.

"Would you shut up already Joelle? We NEVER slept together so stop sayin' that we did. All you girls need to stop spreadin' lies, I'm sick of it. Me and Zoe are still together so go find somethin' else to gossip about," he yelled, the whole cafeteria went silent.

Joelle went bright red and snuck down into her chair. Wade looked at Zoe before walking out of the cafeteria. Zoe smiled to herself but didn't follow him.

He wasn't in class for the rest of the day which upset Zoe and after school, she rushed home. She ran into Wade's house, greeting Earl as she ran passed him standing in the kitchen. Wade was lying on his bed. He didn't look in her direction when she entered his room.

"Thank you for doing that today," Zoe said softly. He turned on his side and faced away from her. She walked around his bed and sat down, looking at him. He looked up at her but then looked away.

"It really means a lot. That you would put me above your reputation like that." He didn't say anything, he just nodded slightly.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to do that," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

"It wasn't hard Zoe. Don' you get it? I care more about you than my reputation or what anyone thinks. I didn' 'put you above my reputation,' you have always been more important." She smiled and put her hand on his but he pulled it away.

"Why won't you let me touch you, Wade?" she asked, looking at him with a hurt look.

"I… I'm upset that you needed me to validate my feelin's for you like that. I'm happy to do it but I didn' think I would ever need to. I thought you knew how I felt about you. You sayin' you needed me to show you that I felt different about you than those other girls? That hurt me. How could you ever equate what I have with you to what I had with them? Do I really mean that little to you?" Zoe's eyes filled with tears.

"Of course not. You mean the world to me and I know how much you care about me. I don't ever need you to validate your feelings to other people even though what you did today meant a lot. I shouldn't have said any of that stuff on Friday. I was just upset with what happened in Mobile and I was worried you didn't want to be with me anymore. I'm still worried about that." He sat up.

"You're still worried about that? Even after today?" Zoe nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because things have changed. I can feel it. I can feel it in the way you kiss me or rather in the way you DON'T kiss me anymore." Wade sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"The reason…" he hesitated and gulped but continued, "The reason I don' kiss you like I used to anymore is cause I'm strugglin' to control myself. I want to take that next step and I know I'm gonna get carried away if we keep makin' out like we do. I don' wan' you to feel pressured so I stopped puttin' us in those situations so I wouldn' feel that tempted." He felt his ears redden at his confession.

She looked at him for a while and burst out laughing. He furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"Me wantin' more is funny?"

"No! Not at all. It's just funny cause it's the complete opposite of what I thought!" He blushed and mumbled a sorry.

"But do you see why I stopped kissin' you and doin' all that stuff?"

"No, I don't," she said, abruptly.

"I'm sorry I don' have the self control you have, Doc," he said bitterly. He was hurt by her response.

She leaned in and pushed her lips against his.

"I want to take that next step too," she whispered as she pulled away. He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her again. He ran his fingers through her hair and deepened the kiss.

"But not now," she said, stopping him.

"But… but why not?" He was looking at her with desperation in his eyes.

"Well, 1. We are in your bedroom and if Harley comes home and sees THAT I'm pretty sure he will castrate you," Wade's eyes widened and Zoe giggled, "2. I don't just want it to happen after we had a fight and just said we were going to take that next step. It feels way too… unnatural that way. I want it to just happen naturally when we are together. Now that we know we are both ready, when the moment is right, it will happen."

Wade nodded in understanding and kissed her.

"I can't wait till this weekend when I can have you all to myself. It's been way too long since I've kissed you like I wanted to!" he said into her mouth. She smiled.

"I better get going before Harley get's home." She kissed him one more time before standing up. Suddenly nervous, she turned around as she was walking out of his room.

"Uh, Wade?"

"Yeah Doc?"

"The next step… you don't mean sex, do you? We are on the same page about what this step is, right?" Wade chuckled.

"We're on the same page, Princess," he winked. She nodded, relieved and gave him a loving smile. She ran to him and kissed him quick before leaving his room. As always, he was waiting at his window when she went into her room.


	13. Chapter 13

"Lavon Hayes loves half days!" Lavon exclaimed, lying back on the grass. It was the Wednesday before Planksgiving and the group was at Lemon's house.

"You got your pirate costume ready for tomorrow Big Z?" he asked.

"Yup! I'm excited to dress up!" Zoe replied, lying on her stomach with her head resting on her hands.

Wade, who was lying next to her on his back, leaned in close and whispered, "You should be. You're gonna look so hot, don' think I'll be able to keep my hands off you!" She blushed and threw a blade of grass at him. They hadn't had any alone time since their talk on Monday and if she was being honest, the anticipation was killing her. She was so nervous, somehow talking about taking the next step in advance made things worse than if it had happened in the moment. Wade wasn't making things any better because he kept bringing up how much he wanted to be alone with her and her stomach was in knots. She obviously wanted it to happen but that didn't make the nerves any less. She kept telling herself that it wasn't as if they were going to have sex but that didn't make it any less of a big deal. This was the most intimate she ever would have been with anyone and that was a big deal.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and chatting in Lemon's back yard. When the sun was starting to set, Zoe and Wade got up to leave in order to get to dinner with Harley.

"Dinner with your father-in-law, Kinsella?" George teased. Wade went red and Zoe shot George a glare. Wade took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers, she gave his hand a squeeze and they left Lemon's house.

After dinner, Harley went into the office because he was on call. Once the dishes were dry, Zoe was putting the last dish away. She turned around and Wade was standing right behind her.

"You scared me, Wade!"

"Sorry, Doc," he laughed. "So, we're finally alone!" he continued, giving her a small smirk. The butterflies in her stomach went crazy. She nodded slightly. He tucked her hair behind her ear and let his hand linger but he didn't lean in to kiss her. They stared at each other for a while, the air feeling thick with tension.

"So…" she said.

"So…" he replied. They stayed quiet, looking into each other's eyes.

"I'm nervous!" they both blurted out at the same time. They both laughed and the tension eased a bit.

"Why don' we just put on a movie and see what happens. No pressure, just you know… if we both feel like it's right later then it'll happen." She nodded and they made their way to the living room. They put on a movie that both of them had seen but neither one said anything. About 10 minutes into the movie, Zoe snuggled into Wade's chest. He wrapped his arm around her and she kissed him lightly. A few minutes later, she leaned up and kissed him again, this time for a bit longer. The third time that happened, Wade cupped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. After a while, she ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He obliged, opening his mouth and pushed her back so that she was lying on the couch. He slid her hand up the back of her shirt, unclipping her bra. She giggled, laughing at how that had quickly become his first move. He smiled into her mouth as she giggled.

"It's been way too long since we've done this," he breathed, moving to kiss her neck. She rolled her eyes but smiled. He was such a boy.

His hand moved down her side, stopping at her hip. She moved so that she was on top of him and moved her hands to his belt. Struggling a bit because her hands were shaking, she managed to unbuckle it. Throwing his belt on to the floor, she undid his jeans. He lifted his hips to help her slide them down. When he was just in his boxers, she shifted so that she was lying next to him. He slid his hand under her skirt, his mouth never leaving hers and this time she didn't push his hand away. He slipped her underwear down to her ankles and she kicked them off. He moved his hand back up. Biting his lip in a moan, she moved her hand down his chest slowly, hesitating briefly when she reached the top of his boxers but slipping her hand in, hearing his breathe catch.

The movie was long finished and Wade and Zoe were lying on the couch, spooning. Their hands were intertwined over her chest. They were fully clothed again, Zoe scared that Harley might come home for some reason. She turned around and snuggled into his chest. She breathed him in.

"You're amazing," she said, moving her hand to cup his cheek. He smiled at her, pulling her closer.

"I know," he responded, cheekily. She shoved him and he laughed, kissing her. She pouted into the kiss and he smiled.

"There isn' a word that can describe what I think you are, Doc. Amazin' jus' doesn' cut it."

She nuzzled into his chest, suddenly embarrassed. She was falling in love with him, well no, she was already in love with him. He was everything she ever wanted and more.

"Am I makin' you shy, Doc?" he teased. She shook her head into his chest. She felt his laugh vibrate through his chest.

After 15 minutes of cuddling, Wade reluctantly got off the couch. It was almost midnight and even though Harley wouldn't be home, he didn't want to get her into trouble just in case. He didn't want to leave. The past weekend when he didn't see her for almost 3 days made him realize that he had fallen head over heels in love with her. He knew he had been falling for a long time but this weekend confirmed it for him. He didn't want to say anything just yet though. But knowing that he loved her made leaving her for the night almost painful.

They stood at the doorway for another 15 minutes, kissing and holding each other. Eventually, he let her go and walked back to his house. Of course, she was waiting for him at her window.

The next morning, Zoe was up early, excited for her first Planksgiving. Not really caring if Wade saw her changing anymore, seeing as they had now seen each other naked, she didn't bother to change in her bathroom as she had done since he had seen her dancing around her room before they were dating. Leaving the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and made her way into her bedroom. She was brushing her her hair, towel still wrapped around her, when she heard Wade wolf whistle. She turned and saw him standing by his window with a towel slung around his hips.

"Well hey there Cowboy," she said as she walked to her window.

"Definitely my favorite view!" he said, folding his arms over his chest.

"My view isn't so bad either," she responded, winking at him.

"Luckily for me, Harley's room is on the other side of the house otherwise I'd be in big trouble, his daughter tryna seduce me and all."

"Is that what I'm doing?"she asked, cheekily.

"Oh yeah, for sure. Prancing around in that tiny towel? Definitely tryna seduce me."

"And here I thought me doing this would be me seducing you," she said as she dropped her towel. His eyes widened and she saw him swallow, rubbing his hand over his mouth. She turned and walked to the bathroom. She came back out a while later, dressed and he looked disappointed when he saw her.

"Tease!" he muttered and she laughed. "You still look hot as a pirate so I win either way," he said.

"Good to know you are easy to please!" she called back to him as she walked towards her bedroom door making her way downstairs to have breakfast.

The Planksgiving festivities were in full swing and Zoe was having the best time. The Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade had nothing on this. Wade kept trying to pull her away and get her alone since her towel stunt from that morning had him all riled up. When the festival was dying down, the group headed back to Lavon's house. His parents had gone to visit his brother for the weekend so he had the house to himself. It was a warm night so they sat outside. Before sitting in her seat, Wade dragged Zoe off behind Lavon's tool shed. He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her deeply. She responded enthusiastically and ran her hands through her hair and down his back. She slipped her hands under his shirt and he did the same to her. She kissed his favorite spot under his ear and he moaned her name. He slipped one hand under her dress and she moaned loudly. Bringing his lips back to hers, they kissed passionately and she was really enjoying what he was doing, moaning his name, which only encouraged him more.

"Guys, we're gonna…" Lemon stopped talking and screamed when she saw them.

"What's wrong Lemon?" Lavon said running to where she was standing. Lavon saw them as well and covered his eyes.

Wade and Zoe pulled away quickly and stood there awkwardly.

"Uh… we're uh… gonna go," Lavon stuttered. Zoe blushed and put her head in Wade's neck.

"We better get back to them," she said reluctantly.

"Yeah, uh… I'm gonna need a minute. I'll be right there," he said awkwardly. Zoe looked at him confused and her eyes widened when she realized what he meant.

"I… I can wait with you until… you're uh… ready to go back to them?"

He blushed, "I think it'll be better if you… go… uh… will be quicker if you aren't standin' there in that sexy outfit." It was her turn to blush now. She nodded and ran off, face burning.

When Zoe got back to the group, everyone had stopped talking, a sure sign that they had been talking about her and him. A few minutes later, Wade joined the group and took Zoe's hand in his. They sat quietly for the rest of the night, too embarrassed to partake in the conversation with their friends. They went home early and walked home silently. Standing on her porch, Wade broke the silence.

"So that was… interestin'," he said, taking hold of both her hands.

"My word would have been embarrassing but let's go with interesting," she laughed.

"Still fun though," he winked. She laughed again.

"Well yes, that too."

"Good night, Doc," he said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Night," she said, "I'll miss you." He smiled at her confession.

"I'll miss you too. Jus' think we got all day together tomorrow. I got somethin' special planned for ya!"

"Can't wait!" He kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As the kiss got more intense, they heard someone clearing their throat. Pulling away slowly, they looked to the side, seeing Harley standing at the front door, arms crossed. Both teens blushed.

"Say good night, Wade," Harley said.

"Good night Harley, sorry about that... Night Zo, I'll see you tomorrow." He quickly ran down the porch steps and jumped the fence, going into his house. Zoe looked up at Harley, not quite meeting his gaze.

"We need to talk," Harley said motioning her inside. Zoe gulped and went to sit on the couch. Sitting there, she had a flashback of how perfect the night before had been but was quickly brought out of it when Harley entered the room.

"Now, Zoe, I can tell that you and Wade are getting serious. It's been a few months now and I… I wanted to give you some… flyers."

"Flyers for what?"

"Various birth control methods," Harley stated, using his doctor voice. Zoe's face went hot.

"Dad!" she whined.

"I want you to be safe."

"Dad! I cannot believe I'm about to say this to my father but Wade and I aren't having sex."

"Even so, I want you to be safe for when that moment comes." Zoe blushed even more.

"I don't… I don't think we will…" she said, her voice trailing.

"Zoe. I am not naïve. You might not be having sex now but it is going to happen sooner rather than later and I want you to be safe. I just became a father; I don't need to be a grandfather. I know I can't stop your relationship from progressing but I can prevent any accidents. I know this is awkward but please. Just read over the flyers tonight and let me know your choice."

Zoe reluctantly took the flyers and went up to her room, embarrassed by what had just happened. When she told Wade what had happened he laughed for about 10 minutes. While waiting for him to finish laughing, she read through the flyers.

The next morning, she went downstairs and found Harley reading the newspaper.

"Uh… Dad?"

He looked up and smiled at her.

"I read through the information you gave me."

"And?"

"I think maybe the pill would be the best option for me, even though, and I can't emphasize this enough, I am NOT having sex and I'm not planning on having sex for a while either." Her face was burning again.

"Ok, how about I give you a repeat prescription and you take it to the pharmacy and they will put it on file. I won't ask when you get your first box and you don't need to tell me but this way, I know that you will be safe when you and Wade… well yes… I don't like to think about it too much. Just remember, the pill is not effective against STD's."

"DAD! Neither of us has an STD!"

"Sweetie, I know you get angry when I bring it up but the rumors…"

"Wade never slept with any of those girls, dad. And he'll kill me for telling you that but I am so sick of everyone in this town thinking the worst of him!"

"Oh… well… ok then… uh… I am going to head off to the office. I will get breakfast at the Butterstick."

Harley walked off towards the door.

"Hey, dad?" Zoe called behind him.

"Yes, dear?"

"Thank you, it couldn't have been easy for you to give me all this information. If it happens, I'll be safe. But just know that Wade is a good guy and I really care about him and I know he cares about me too. He doesn't pressure me in any way and we are both not ready for that so you can rest easy! But… thank you for caring like you do."

"You're welcome. I'm glad he makes you happy, dear. As much as I hate saying this, I trust him and he has proved to me that he would never hurt you intentionally."

Zoe smiled as he left and she ran upstairs to get ready for her special day with Wade, excited to see what he had planned.

**Author's note: So in case it wasn't clear but I think it was, the next step was Wade's (in the show) definition of first base - "A little hand up the skirt, team wins, what's the harm" - from episode 7 of season 2. **

**The decision to have George be the one that's always ragging on Wade is a conscious one. I feel Wade would have been like that to George when he was dating Lemon when they were younger (in the show) and now Wade is the one in the serious relationship so I chose to have him be the one that makes the comments, just as a juxtaposition to the show. I like how in the show Wade always teases George and I didn't want to lose that dynamic between them in my story. **


	14. Chapter 14

Wade wouldn't tell her where they were going but when she met him on the porch, he told her to go put flat shoes on because her heels would not be appropriate. She protested but went inside and changed into flats. The drive was quite long and they chatted and listened to music while holding hands. When they got to their destination, Zoe groaned.

"Please do not tell me you are taking me fishing!" she whined as she saw a dock with some fishing boats to rent.

"Ha, as if! I value my life too much to try get you to do that!" She glared at him but went to wrap her arms around him, relieved.

"So if we're not fishing, where are we going?" she asked, arms still wrapped around his waist.

"Well we will be on a boat… but we ain't fishin'." Pulling away from her, he took her hand and led her to the boat rental shop. He rented a small motorized boat and got a cooler and a bag out of the trunk of his car before they made their way to the boat.

Once they got into deeper water, Wade cut the engine and let down the anchor.

"Come here," he said to her, motioning with his hand. She crawled into his arms and faced away from him, leaning back into his chest. He pulled out some soda from the cooler and they sat there in comfortable silence.

"It's so beautiful and peaceful out here," she commented after a while.

"Yeah, this is where my dad used to bring me fishin' when I was younger. It's one of my favorite places in the world; I have really good memories of this place."

"When I was 8, I asked my dad if we could go fishing. He promised to take me and organized a trip for a weekend. I was all packed and ready, my mom even bought me a pink fishing rod. I was so excited. We got to the car, just about to leave when he got a call from the hospital. He promised that we'd go another time but we never did."

"I'm sorry, Zo." She shrugged.

"It's no big deal, I was used to it."

"Doesn' make it any less sucky," he said, running his hands up and down her arms.

"Yeah… it sucked." She sniffled. She turned slightly and rested her head on his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I miss him," she said with a hiccup.

"I bet you do," he replied softly, kissing her forehead and holding her tight.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Harley but Ethan was my dad for 16 years…"

"I understand."

She held onto his shirt, crying uncontrollably now. Not knowing what to say, he rubbed her back and stroked her hair. After a while she stopped crying and looked up at him.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Don' got nothin' to be sorry about, Zo," he said sincerely.

"Well, I made your shirt all wet."

"Well now that's just unacceptable," he teased. She laughed, nestling back into his chest.

"You know, I could take you fishin' if you want? I'll even buy you a pink fishin' rod," he said after a while. She laughed, shoving his chest.

"I think I'll pass but thank you. I don't want to touch a slimy fish!"

They spent the rest of morning and afternoon talking and kissing, just enjoying each other's company. They ate the lunch which Wade had packed. Eventually, at around 4 o clock, Wade started the engine back up making their back to the shore. When they parked the boat, Zoe stuck out her bottom lip.

"I don't want to go home," she said, sulkily.

"We ain't goin' home yet, Doc. Still got one more thing planned," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the car. The drove back in the direction of Bluebell but Wade turned off onto another road. Pulling the car up to a parking lot, he pulled out a blindfold.

"Now I know you're impatient but you gotta wait here for a minute and you gotta put this on." She folded her arms and huffed. He kissed her lightly on the lips and wrapped the blindfold around her head.

"No peaking," he shouted as he ran to his destination. He set everything up as quickly as he could and went back to get her. He was happy to see that she had listened to him and hadn't removed the blindfold.

He led her down and path and she gasped when she saw what he had set up. There, on the pier overlooking the gulf, was a picnic blanket and a few candles set up.

"Wade, it's beautiful," she gushed. He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.

"It's not much," he said softly.

"It's perfect," she beamed up at him.

As the sun was setting, they had dinner. Wade had packed some things from the Butterstick and made his momma's famous chicken salad. Being on the water, the temperature dropped once the sun was low in the sky. Zoe shivered and Wade pulled out a blanket from his bag. Zoe sat in his lap and he wrapped the blanket around both of them.

"This day was perfect," she said as they sat there, overlooking the water.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, it wasn' much," he said, softly.

"Are you kidding? It was more than enough, it was amazing. Everything you ever do for me is amazing. You make me feel so special, every day."

He blushed. He was never one to accept compliments easily, they always made him embarrassed. She sat up and turned to look at him. She took a deep breath.

"I love you, Wade." He looked at her, his eyes wide.

"No," he responded, pushing her off him, getting up and walking to the railing.

"What do you mean no?" She was upset, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Just no. You can't say that."

"Why not, it's what I feel?" she yelled.

"Because I'm meant to say it first," he yelled back.

"But… I do love you. And I wanted to tell you."

"I'm meant to say it first."

"I can't help it if you don't feel it and I do."

"I DO love you! I was going to tell you tonight but you said it first!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Ok." She was still yelling.

"Ok," he responded in the same tone.

They stood there in silence, both breathing heavily.

"I love you Zoe," he said, his voice back to normal.

"And I love you," she responded.

"Well… Good," he said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Get over here and kiss me already!"

He didn't need to be told twice, taking two strides to get to where she was and pressed his lips against hers.

When they got home, Wade pulled into his drive way. Undoing his seat belt and moving to open his door, Zoe leaned over and put her hand on his to stop him. She crawled into his lap and kissed him passionately. She was straddling him and he moved his hands to her butt. He deepened the kiss as she ran her hands through his hair. Their hands were roaming all over each other's bodies, Zoe's hands resting on his belt. Pulling it off quickly, she fumbled at the button of his jeans. He lifted her off his hips and climbed into the back seat, dragging her back with him. He was not all that comfortable because he was too tall but it didn't stop him from kissing her. She took his shirt off and kissed his chest. After some time and lots of heavy breathing, they were both somehow in just their underwear. She was on top of him and they were grinding their hips together. He shifted her so that she was under him. He slid his hand up her thigh and removed her underwear while kissing her stomach. He moved down and started trailing kisses up her thigh, making his way up slowly. He put his head between her legs and she moaned. A few minutes later, they fumbled a bit because of the small space but Zoe was now on top of Wade. He moaned her name as she trailed kisses along his jaw line. She shifted and kissed him down his chest, making her way down his stomach. Mimicking his earlier actions, she pulled his boxers down and she heard him draw in a sharp breath. She carried on kissing his stomach, making her way lower. When she reached her destination, he drew in another sharp breath and threw his head back.

After a while, she was lying with her head on his chest as his breathing slowed.

"Are you mad at me? We hadn't exactly spoken about going further... I just... I'm sorry... I got carried away," Wade muttered.

"I'm not mad, Wade. I wanted to. Do you regret it?"

"No, not at all. That was... just wow... Are you sure though?"

"Of course I'm sure! It was... mind blowing," she giggled shyly.

"Ok good! I love you, Doc."

"I love you too, Wade."

"You better get goin', Harley'll be wonderin' where you are." She sighed and nodded.

"I don't wanna!" she whined.

"I know… There is nothin' more I want than to fall asleep with you in my arms but you gotta…" He shifted her up to his level and kissed her. They got dressed and he walked her to the door.

"Thank you for today… and tonight. I love you so so much, Wade." He smiled and kissed her lightly.

"I love you more," he whispered. She shook her head.

"Not possible," she responded stubbornly. He chuckled and kissed her again. Eventually they went into their houses.

After spending a few hours talking, they went to bed. Both went to sleep with a smile on their faces, remembering what had happened that night. Before drifting off, Zoe made a mental note to go to the pharmacy soon to fill her pill prescription. She knew now that they were going to have sex sooner than she had anticipated. The thought made her giddy and excited, she knew he was the guy she wanted to lose her virginity to and she loved him more than she ever thought possible.

**Author's note: So I hope that next step they took was clear? I don't want to go into too much detail in the story cause it's rated T and not M! If you aren't sure, it was 3****rd**** base so the next thing is sex. It won't happen too soon, I have other things planned so we'll see how it goes.**

**Work this week will be hectic and all the shows start this week after the winter break so updates might not be as frequent as they have been (HART OF DIXIE on Friday! Yay! Even though I've seen this episode, I'll definitely watch again. Can't wait till Friday!). The next chapter has been written so it will be up tomorrow but it might be 2 days till the one after that.**


	15. Chapter 15

The following Friday was the annual football game against Daphne High. Wade had told Zoe the stories about the rivalry between the two teams. Zoe was getting dressed, painting Wade's number on her cheek in blue face paint. She and Harley always went to the games together; it had become sort of a weekly father-daughter bonding time for them. When she was ready, they drove to the school.

The game was well on its way and CLJJ was in the lead and Daphne were starting to hit back, trying to regain what had been an early lead. George had the ball and the biggest Daphne player was heading to tackle him. Wade blocked him and went down. Zoe flinched. This was what she hated about football, seeing Wade get tackled but he was always fine. This time though, he didn't get up right away and was lying there clutching his side. She stood up to rush to the field but Harley stopped her. The game was halted and Harley got up to assist. Zoe followed him and ran onto the field. She tried to push her way through the crowd but George held her back.

"You'll get in the way, Zoe. Just let Harley and Brick work," he said. She nodded, trying to stay calm. A stretcher was brought onto the field and Zoe couldn't stop the tears from falling. A few minutes later, Wade was brought of the field lying on the stretcher with Brick and Harley following. She jogged to Harley, tugging at shirt.

"We are going to the hospital in Mobile, it's his ribs. We have to do x-rays."

"I want to come with," she said, firmly.

"Zoe, I don't think that's the best idea."

"No. I am going. Either you let me go with or I will start cheerleading and fall from the top of the pyramid and my own ambulance will get me there. Your choice." She folded her arms in defiance. Harley sighed and nodded. She ran to the ambulance and jumped in before the doors closed.

"I thought you meant drive with me, Zoe!" Harley screamed as she ran. She looked at him as the doors closed and shrugged apologetically.

She took Wade's hand in hers, sitting next to him, staying out of the paramedics' way. He looked at her; he had tears in his eyes.

"Doc," he said softly. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Hey Cowboy, you scared me! I don't like seeing you like this!"

"You're gonna see this kinda stuff everyday when you're a world class surgeon!" She smiled at him, stroking his hair.

"Those people won't be someone I love!" He chuckled and winced.

"No more jokes!" he muttered.

"I wasn't joking! But I'll be quiet." He nodded slightly and closed his eyes.

At the hospital, he got taken up for x-rays. She was sitting in the waiting room when Brick and Harley joined her.

"How's Wade?" Brick asked.

"In pain," she replied simply. Harley sat next to her and took her hand in his.

"He will be ok, Zoe. It's probably just a broken rib." She nodded and put her head on his shoulder.

"I was so scared seeing him lying there in that ambulance," she stated, "Is that normal?"

"Of course, sweetheart. You love him and it's always scary to see someone you love hurt."

The doctor came out and informed them that Wade had broken one of his ribs and bruised a few more. There was nothing they could do other than ice it so he was free to go home. When the doctor walked away, Harley told Zoe that Wade would be in a lot of pain for a while and that even small movements and excessive talking would be painful.

Zoe and Harley walked into Wade's hospital room.

"Wade, my boy, the doctor has spoken to you I assume?" Harley said. Wade just nodded.

"I uh… explained the situation regarding your father to the doctor," Harley continued. Wade blushed. "He agreed that I would be the one to sign your discharge papers and take responsibility for getting you home."

"Thank you, Harley," Wade said. He was in pain and talking too much caused more. Luckily the doctor prescribed him some pretty strong pain killers.

When they got home, Zoe helped Wade out of the car. Harley stood there watching the young couple.

"Zoe?" he called as she walked towards Wade's house. She walked towards him.

"Obviously the rule about being his bedroom does not apply while he is injured. He's going to need help and…" he stepped forward and whispered to her, "obviously Earl is not going to step up, unfortunately."

"Thank you, Dad," she said and kissed his cheek.

Helping Wade into his room, she helped him sit on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"The pain pills have finally kicked in but I feel uncomfortable."

"I know you probably aren't up for it but I think you should shower. I'll help you."

"I don't know, Zo. I just wanna sleep."

"I know but you were running around sweating on the field and you're covered in grass stains."

He rolled his eyes, "Ok mom."

She walked to his window and closed his curtains. He winced in pain as she made him lift his arms to get his shirt off. After a long time, he was finally undressed and he went to the shower. After 10 minutes, she heard him calling her name.

He was standing in the shower when she went into his bathroom.

"I need your help, please."

"Sure, what can I do?"

"I can't really move much without bein' in a lot of pain and I need to uh… wash myself…"

She could tell he was embarrassed. She stripped down and climbed into the shower. She washed his chest and arms, being as gentle as possible. He was staring at her naked body as she did this. She lathered shampoo in his hair and he closed his eyes, enjoying what was surprisingly an incredibly intimate moment. About 10 minutes later, she turned the water off and they got out. She dried him, her eyes not leaving his. Finally, when he was dressed, she helped him into the bed.

"Come lie with me for a minute," he said.

"I don't want to hurt you," she replied.

"You won', come lie on my left side. Please," he pleaded.

She climbed into his bed, lying on his chest carefully.

"Thank you for all your help, Doc. I'd be lost without you," he whispered, the pain killers were strong and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Wade. I was so scared seeing you lying on that field."

"It wasn' so bad…"

"It wasn't bad? Are you joking?"

"Well, I got to stare at you in the shower so I see it as a good day all in all," he said with a chuckle. He winced.

"That's what you get for being a wise ass!" she teased. He smiled. "Go sleep baby, I'll stay here for a while but then I have to go back home. I love you."

"Love you," he said, falling asleep. She lay with him for a while, tracing patterns on his chest. Eventually, she slid out of his arms, opened his curtains and made her way home.

The next morning, she woke up and found a paper airplane lying on her bed. Opening it quickly, she read his messy writing. _Thank you. For last night. For everything. I love you, Doc. _She smiled and folded it up; putting it into a box she had where she kept all his other letters and other trinkets from their relationship over the past few months.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw Wade sitting there with Harley having breakfast. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"I wasn't expecting you here?" she asked, sitting down next to him, kissing his cheek.

"Harley came round and invited me round for breakfast," he responded. Zoe looked up at Harley and gave him a grateful smile.

"Have you told Earl about what happened yet?" she asked, helping herself to cereal.

"He was passed out when I left this mornin'. Don' matter." Wade shrugged. Zoe put her hand on his knee and squeezed it. She knew he was pretending that it didn't bother him.

Harley was working for weekend because Brick had gone fishing. Zoe and Wade played video games at his house for the rest of the day and when it was dinner time, Lemon and Lavon came over to visit. Before they arrived, they went over to her house. Wade wasn't comfortable with letting people, other than Zoe, seeing his house or Earl, who spent most of his time these days passed out and when he was awake, knocked back the scotch like it was water.

They hadn't spent time with Lemon and Lavon since Planksgiving because Zoe and Wade still felt awkward around them. It ended up being a really fun yet relaxing evening, just what Wade needed. He was unusually quiet, even for him but it was because he felt a lot of pain when he moved too much and especially when he laughed. Near midnight, Lemon and Lavon left and Zoe cleaned up. They walked over to his house and she helped him get dressed into his pajamas. When he fell asleep, she went back to her house and got ready for bed. She scribbled a note for him and folded it into a paper airplane and sent it flying into his room. She was happy to see that it landed on his bed so he would easily be able to get it when he woke up without having to bend down.

When Wade woke up he saw the note. Opening it, he smiled as he read it. _Hope you dreamt of me last night, I know I definitely dreamt of you. Love you always and forever._ He wrote back and sent it back. _I've been dreaming of you since before I even met you. Love you forever and always. _

The weeks leading up to Winter Break, Zoe was at Wade's side as much as possible. She did everything for him. She helped him get dressed, she helped him shower and she stayed with him until he fell asleep. He was always very grateful but Zoe was starting to feel really irritated. She felt guilty because it wasn't his fault that he needed her and that Earl didn't even have a clue what had happened but she couldn't help it. Her school work was suffering because by the time she got home, she was so exhausted that she usually just took a quick shower and went to bed.

The Friday before the break started, she made plans to go out with AB and Lemon and didn't tell Wade. They were going to the Rammer Jammer to have dinner and then were going to hang out at AB's house until her curfew.

"So Wade is ok with you coming out tonight with us?" AB asked as they sat down at a table.

"He doesn't have to be ok with anything, it's not like we're married. I can do what I want," Zoe snapped.

"Well you've been following him around like a puppy these last few weeks; you guys are literally always together. Just figured I'd ask," AB said a little hurt.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, AB. I am just so tired. And I feel so bad about it but I'm sick of being at his every beck and call!" Zoe sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"Maybe you should talk to him? Surely he's able to do more things for himself now; aren't his ribs healing?" Lemon suggested.

"And say what? 'I don't want to help you do things that you can't do for yourself even though I'm the only person who will do it'? I can't say that to him, he'll be crushed. It's bad enough that Earl is so absent. He literally has no one, you guys. He was getting better but he's so impatient with himself; he keeps twisting and turning and Harley says it's made it worse so it's going to be a while until he's back to normal."

"I wish I knew what to tell you, Z."

"It's ok; I am just so happy that I am out with you tonight! I needed this."

After they had dinner, they went to AB's house. They were lying on her bed, listening to music and chatting. The landline in AB's room rang and she picked it up.

"Oh hey Wade," she said sweetly. Zoe shook her hands to signal that she didn't want to talk to him.

"No, she isn't here… I don't know where she is… Ok, I'll tell her if I see her… Ok, bye." She hung up.

"Am I a horrible girlfriend?" Zoe asked, pulling nervously at the collar of her shirt.

"Well, you aren't going to be winning any prizes for the world's best girlfriend anytime soon," Lemon replied.

"Gee, thanks Lemon."

"But you're not the worst one either," AB chimed in, giving Lemon a glare.

"What did he say?" Zoe asked.

"Just that he was worried about you because you didn't tell him where you'd be going. Also that he thought you guys were gonna hang out tonight."

Zoe looked at her friends guiltily. Lemon put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Zoe. You need time to yourself every now and then. Did you go about it in the wrong way? Probably but when do you ever do things in the normal way?"

"Hey!"

Lemon gave her a look.

"Ok, you're right…" Zoe said, "Can we just… not talk about Wade. Tell me what's happening in your guys' love lives. How are things going with Lavon? And George, AB?"

They spent the rest of the night talking about anything and everything, except Wade. He was constantly at the back of her mind and she felt guilty but she pushed the thoughts away and forced herself to enjoy the night, which she did.

When she got home, she saw that his curtains were closed. She sighed, knowing that there was going to have to be a conversation she was dreading. She contemplated throwing something at his window to get his attention but she decided against it. She climbed into bed and fell asleep quite quickly.

**Author's note: ****So this chapter is loosely based on episode 7 in season 1 when Wade uses him breaking a rib in order to get George to tear up the divorce papers.**

**If you have any ideas or specific things you'd like to see, please feel free to send me a PM. Ideas are always welcome and if I feel I can incorporate them, I will.**

**So I know I said updates would be slow but I can't stop writing so next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: It's a short chapter and important for the one to follow which is already written and will be up tomorrow.**

**Please review, they make me warm and fuzzy. Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed and reviewed so far!**

The next morning, Wade woke up before the sun rose. He painfully got himself out of bed and made his way into the bathroom. He started getting ready for the day and turned the shower on. Struggling, he managed to undress and stood under the hot water, letting it run down his back. He was hurt that he hadn't heard from Zoe yesterday. He knew he had been demanding the past few weeks but it still upset him. After carefully washing himself and his hair, he managed to get out and dry himself. Small movements were painful but he eventually got it done.

Finally, after half an hour, he was fully dressed. He had struggled to bend down to tie his shoes but it was nothing a few pain killers couldn't fix. He made his way downstairs and found Earl making breakfast. Earl was always sober really early in the morning and if Wade had managed to get up, it would almost be like it was in the old days.

"Good mornin', son. You're up early?" Earl said as Wade sat down.

"Yeah, I couldn' really sleep. Was a bit uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? Why? You need a new mattress or somethin'?"

"Nah, I uh… I was in some pain."

"Pain? From what? Someone smackin' you around at school?"

"I got tackled a couple weeks ago durin' a game. Broke one of my ribs," Wade confessed.

"Oh… Why didn' you tell me?"

"I tried… But I… I haven' seen you sober much these days. Or not so much sober, more you know… not passed out."

"Don' be talkin' to your ol' man like that, boy," Earl said angrily.

"Maybe I wouldn' need to talk to you like that if you manned up and acted like a father!" Wade stood up, yelling and pushing the table away from him. He felt a surge of pain up his side. He turned to leave the house. He heard Earl yelling at him as he walked away but he ignored it.

He had nowhere to go. Normally he would go to Zoe's house but he didn't want to see her. The Rammer Jammer wasn't open yet, otherwise he'd go there. He hadn't worked recently because of his ribs but maybe he could start again. He would go to ask Wally when it was opening time. He walked for a long time. Eventually, he ended up at the old plantation. He walked to the old gate house and sat on the porch steps, overlooking the pond.

Zoe woke up and saw that Wade's curtains were still closed. Sighing, she got ready for the day and went to have breakfast downstairs. Alone in the kitchen, she started wondering if Wade was ok. She knew he struggled to get up and dressed. She walked out the house and let herself in through his front door. She was met by Earl who was doing dishes. She had never met him sober before.

"Morning, Earl."

"Morning, Pretty Lady."

"I uh… came to see Wade. Is it alright if I go upstairs?"

"You can go upstairs but he ain' there."

"What? Where is he?"

Earl shrugged.

"He left here about three hours ago, didn' say where he was goin'"

She thanked him and left. She walked to the Rammer Jammer, not knowing where else he could be. The Rammer Jammer was in the middle of their breakfast rush. She saw George sitting at a table, reading a book.

"Hey George," she greeted.

"Morning Zoe. How are you?" he replied, looking up with a smile.

"Good good. Uh… you haven't by any chance seen Wade around here?"

"Nah, not today." Zoe smiled at him, disappointed. "Why don't you take a seat?" he offered.

"I really should try find him…" he voice trailed off.

"He'll probably be here in a bit, besides where would you even look?"

"I guess you're right," she said and sat down.

She had never really spent any alone time with George but he was surprisingly funny. She enjoyed talking to him and soon, the breakfast rush was over leaving them at the only occupied table. They ordered a plate of fries to share and chatted, Zoe forgetting her worry over Wade and losing track of time.

Wade didn't know how long he had been sitting staring at the pond but eventually made his way to the Rammer Jammer to speak to Wally. Walking in, he saw Zoe sitting at a table with George, throwing her head back in laughter. Just as he was about to storm off, George noticed him.

"Hey, Wade! There you are!" George said. Zoe turned to look at him and her face lit up when she saw him. Getting up, she made her way over to him.

"I was wondering where you were!" she said when she reached him. She leaned in to kiss him hello but he stepped back.

"How long have you been here, Zoe?"

"I don't know, like a few hours? I was really worried about you Wade," she said as she reached to touch his arm. He pulled his arm away, wincing slightly at the sudden movement.

"Yeah, you looked real worried when I walked in," he said bitterly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, hurt.

"You were laughin' and jokin' around when I came in. Didn' look like I had even crossed your mind. What? You finally realized Golden Boy was better than you poor, injured boyfriend?" he hissed.

"So I'm meant to sit and pine for you all day? That's what you want? I am not you wife and I am allowed to have other friends. We don't have to spend every single minute together or know where the other one is at every second of every day," she yelled.

"I just thought that maybe you'd wanna know where I was seein' as you know how difficult it is to get stuff done for myself these days, Zoe," he was yelling back.

"Yes, I know how difficult it is for you. I know because I am ALWAYS there. You need to change your shirt, I'm there. You need to pack your bag, I'm there. You need help tying your shoes, I'm there. I cannot do that all the time Wade. I love you but it is not my job, I am not your mother."

He stepped back like he had been slapped when the last word came out of her mouth. She realized what she had said and she moved to cup his cheek. He pushed her away, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I know you are not my momma," he whispered bitterly.

"I… Wade… I am so sorry…" she stammered, stepping towards him. He shook his head, held up his hand to stop her, turned and walked out of the Rammer Jammer.

"Zoe," George said, touching her arm. She turned to look at him.

"I am a horrible person," she stated.

"You aren't, Zo. He just… He's Wade. He'll be fine, he always is."

"He is never going to forgive me," she sobbed. She ran out of the bar, all the way to his house. The door was locked but she banged on it until her hands were sore. She ran up to her room to find his curtains still closed and his window was now shut too.

"Wade!" she called. No answer. "Wade, please. I'm begging you. Please just open up," she was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"I know you can hear me because I heard you all that time you shouted at me and my window was closed!"

She waited until the sun went down; calling him every few minutes but there was nothing. Harley came into her room to tell her that he was home for work. She was sitting on the bay window, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't sure how she still had tears after almost a full day of crying but somehow she did. She wouldn't talk to him and she refused to leave her spot to eat. He brought her a plate of food but she just picked at it and didn't eat anything. Eventually, at around 10 pm, Wade pulled open one of his curtains but didn't open his window. She sat up and their eyes met. He looked down and stuck a note on his window. _I NEED TIME. _He closed his curtain again and after a few minutes, the bedroom light went off. She sat staring at the note until she fell asleep, curled up on her bay window, cheeks stained with tears.


	17. Chapter 17

Zoe did not lay eyes on Wade for the rest of the weekend. She did not leave her room and stared at the sign he had left on his window for hours on end. She wrote him at least 50 letters and folded them into paper planes but he never opened his window and she probably wouldn't have sent them even if he had. That Monday morning, she got up early and waited on the porch. She knew she would see him leave for school and she wanted to be ready in case he left early. She waited until Harley had to drive her to school because if she had walked, she would have been late.

He wasn't in Homeroom, he wasn't in Math, he wasn't at lunch. She didn't see him once and after school, she ran straight for his house. The door was still locked. She banged on it and eventually Earl came out and told her to go home, that Wade didn't want to see her.

This routine continued for three days until Wednesday, the day the school closed for Winter Break.

By Thursday, she had given up. She no longer sat at her window waiting. On Saturday, 3 days before Christmas, she was sitting in the kitchen trying to eat breakfast when she saw him and Earl leave the house and climb into his car. She rushed outside and banged on his window, making both him and Earl jump. He tried to reverse but she ran to stand behind his car, putting her hands on her hips.

"You are going to have to run me over. I am not moving until you open your window and look at me, you coward!" she yelled stubbornly.

He rolled down his window and she walked to it.

"Hey Doc, how are you?" he asked like nothing had happened.

"That's what you're going with? What the hell is wrong with you? I haven't spoken to you in a week! I was worried!"

"You don' gotta worry bout me Doc. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," he said with a sad smile.

"Wade," she pleaded, "You know I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean that I didn't want to take care of you. I was just… I was tired and I'm sorry. Please don't shut me out, please." She was begging.

"No need to apologize. Water off a duck's back."

"It's obviously not if you're acting this way. You're obviously still mad, Wade! Please talk to me!"

"Look, Doc, we got some place we gotta be."

"Where?" she asked.

"Just somewhere," Wade muttered.

Earl hung his head sadly.

"We gotta go to Jackie's grave. 10 years today since she died," he said sadly. Zoe's eyes widened and she put her hand on Wade's through the window.

"Wade…" she said softly. He moved his hand away.

"We gotta go, Zoe."

She moved her hand out of the car and nodded.

"I love you, Wade," she said as he began to roll up the window. He gave a small nod and reversed out of the drive way.

She felt more terrible than she had before. Not only had she basically thrown the fact that he didn't have a mother to look after him in his face but she did it a WEEK before the tenth anniversary of her death. She felt sick to her stomach. Seeing how he was acting today, she wasn't sure if he was ever going to let her in again.

She walked up his steps to his front door. It was unlocked, something it hadn't been for a week. She had hoped that it was because he was trying to tell her she was allowed back in but then she remembered that she had seen Earl leave the house last meaning that it was just a habit, not an invitation. She didn't care. She let herself in and went to sit on Wade's bed. She lay on his pillow and breathed in his scent. She missed him.

She must have fallen asleep because she next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake.

"Wade?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Nah, Big Z," a voice said.

"Lavon? What are you doing in Wade's room?"

"He called me, said he found you sleeping on his bed and didn't have the energy to talk to you today."

Zoe eyes filled with tears. "Where is he?"

"Can't tell you, Z. I'm sorry."

"I really messed up, didn't I?"

Lavon sat on the bed next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "He needs time, Z. What you said… It hurt him. A lot. I don' know why, maybe it's cause it was so close to her anniversary. But just… give him the space he wants. He'll come around but sometimes he takes a little longer to deal with his emotions than most people."

Zoe nodded and they went downstairs. She declined his offer to go with him and Lemon to the Rammer Jammer and went into her house. She curled up on the couch and watched Casablanca. Harley came home and found her sleeping. He carried her upstairs and tucked her into her bed. He didn't know what was going with her and Wade but he knew that she was distraught. He walked to her window and saw the sign on his window. Harley sighed and made his way downstairs.

Zoe holed herself up in her room once again and refused to go to the tree lighting on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, her and Harley exchanged gifts. She went over to Wade's house and knocked on the door. Not thinking anyone would answer, she was surprised when the door opened.

"Hi Pretty Lady," Earl greeted her. She could tell that he wasn't drunk yet.

"Merry Christmas, Earl," she said with a forced smile.

"Look, I know you want to see Wade but I think that…"

"I'm not here to see him, Earl," she interrupted, "If you could just give him this, I'd appreciate it." She handed him a large wrapped box and made her way down the porch stairs.

Wade was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when Earl came in.

"You girlfriend came by," Earl said, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"I don' wanna see her," Wade responded.

"She didn' ask to come in. She did ask me to give this to you though." Earl handed Wade the box and got up to leave.

"Don' be stupid, boy. Whatever she did, you can work it out. Don' let her go cause of pride," he said before closing the door behind him.

Wade sat up slowly, his ribs still giving him problems but it wasn't as bad as it had been, he could feel that he was healing. He opened the box and found a letter on top of a few other things. There was a frame similar to the ones he had on his desk with a photo of the two of them, the swiss army knife which he had told her he wanted a while back on one of their trips to Mobile, a bottle of his favorite cologne and finally a pink fishing rod that looked as if it had been made for a doll. He laughed at the last gift, walking over to his desk and laying it in front of his new picture frame. He opened the letter and lay down to read it. He noticed there were tear stains on the paper. His stomach twinged with guilt.

_My dearest Wade,_

_Merry Christmas. I wish I could spend this day with you but I know you need time to yourself._

_I am so sorry. For everything. For avoiding you that Friday night when I should have been mature and spoken to you about my feelings. You are always so understanding and you would never have held it against me if I told you that I was tired of being at your every beck and call. Don't get me wrong I loved helping you and would do it any day and drop anything and everything for you but I felt like I never had any time to myself. I got a B on my Physics test which has never happened before and I blamed you because I didn't have time to study because I was helping you. I shouldn't have done that. _

_I'm sorry for being more into my talk with George than I was in finding you. I was wrong. But it felt so good to be laughing and joking around. These past few weeks, since your accident, it's been so serious. It feels like our relationship skipped a million mile stones and we weren't us anymore, I didn't even recognize us, we stopped laughing (I know it was difficult for you to do that because of your ribs). I did not for ONE second ever think that I would prefer being with George._

_Lastly, I am sorry for what I said. I am so so sorry. I don't know if you'll ever be able to forgive me. It just slipped out and I didn't mean that you were replacing your momma with me, if that's what you were thinking. I honestly didn't even think when I said it, I guess I was just trying to emphasize that at 16, it's too much pressure for a relationship to have one person solely responsible on the other one. _

_I know it sounds as if I am trying to justify myself but I'm not. I just find it easier to write these things out and I want to say all these things to you, all my fears about our relationship, to your face but you won't let me. So this was my only option._

_I completely understand if you want to end things after all the horrible things I did to you. That doesn't mean I won't fight for you but I'll understand…_

_I love you, always and forever._

_Your Doc_

_xxx_

Wade got up and took the sign off his window. He made his way over to her house. The walk felt like it took forever. He had a lump in his throat and his stomach was in knots. Harley opened the door.

"Merry Christmas, Harley. Can I…" he cleared his throat, "May I speak to Zoe?"

Harley took a step back, letting Wade through the door. Wade walked upstairs and into her room. She was lying on her bed, holding her pillow. Closing the door behind him first, he sat down on her bed and she looked up at him. She looked relieved, scared, sad and happy all at the same time. He could tell that she had been crying. His heart clenched.

"I know… this is going to sound pathetic… but please… before you say anything, please just hold me," she said before he could speak. He moved up and lay against her head board. She crawled into his chest on his left side and held onto his shirt. She tried to muffle her sobs but she couldn't control them. She cried into his shirt and he held onto her, pressing his nose into her hair and smelling her sweet shampoo.

After about 10 minutes, she had stopped crying and he was rubbing the spot above her hip with his thumb. He sat her up slowly.

"We gotta talk, Zo," he said. She nodded, biting her lip, trying not to cry again.

"Thank you for the gift," he started. She just nodded again.

"I read your letter," he said again, after a while. No response except a nod.

"Why didn' you tell me that you were feelin' that way? It wasn' my intention to make you feel… suffocated?"

She shrugged.

"Look, Doc, I'm gonna need you to respond in a more verbal way if we are gonna talk this out."

"I know I should have… It didn't bug me at first, I loved helping you but then I noticed my school work was starting to slack and I found myself falling asleep thinking about you but not in the way I normally do, more in a 'tomorrow, I have to make sure he has his English book report packed because he left it on his desk and he can't forget it' kind of way. Which is… why I made that comment about being your mom. I swear, Wade, I didn't mean it the way you think… I just… We're 16 and we were naked in your car a few weeks ago and now all of a sudden, I'm worrying about your book report and whether or not your blue shirt would be too difficult for you to put on. It's not healthy! We went from being crazy in love teenagers to… I don't even know what? I want to say mother and son but that's gross cause you don't look at me like a son looks at his mom," she finished, trying to lighten the mood. He laughed lightly.

"I wish you would have told me all this stuff. I woulda understood. I know that I became dependent on you and trust me, I hated the fact that I couldn' dress myself and needed your help for all that stuff. If you'd said it to me instead of avoid me, we coulda side stepped a whole bunch of pain. I probably would have been a bit upset but I got more upset cause you avoided me and sat in the Rammer Jammer lookin' perfectly happy and carefree."

"I know," she said, looking down ashamed. "I handled it completely the wrong way."

He shrugged, "What's new, Princess?"

"Not nice!" she said with a smile. He leaned in and kissed her lightly.

"So you're not breaking up with me?" she asked, pulling away.

"You kiddin'? You're not getting' rid of me that easily!" he said, teasing her.

"Good, that's exactly what I was hoping you'd say!" She kissed him again, this time with a little bit more passion but being mindful of his ribs. Pulling apart after a while, she sighed.

"About what I said in the Rammer Jammer…" she said.

"Zo, you don' gotta explain. I get it, I read the letter. I promise, I'm not mad about that. I was but I realized I was more mad about the you avoidin' me part… and the Golden Boy part."

"Jealous, Cowboy?"

He scoffed, "Me? Of him? Never!"

"Mmhmm," she said, not believing him.

"This is what I missed, us being us. Not all this serious stuff old people stuff like helping their partner get dressed cause the other is too old!" Wade laughed at her joke, hiding his small pain that shot up his side from her.

"How are you feeling? How are your ribs?"

"Much better, almost have no pain!" he said, "I can get ready all by myself now, no need to get anyone's help. And I'm sorry too. I shouldn' have let it go on this long. I should have let us fight it out on that day when I stormed out the Rammer Jammer. I shouldn' jus' run away when things get tough. I know it probably didn' feel like I appreciated all you did for me these past few weeks, Doc. But I really did. I love you, Zoe. More than anythin'."

"I love you too, Wade." He held her tightly, enjoying what he missed over the past week.

"I got you a gift, Doc," Wade said after a while.

"Gimme gimme gimme!" she said excitedly. He handed her a small velvet box.

"It was my momma's… she left it to me in her will, told me to give it to that special someone when the time came," he said as he nervously rubbed his hand through his hair.

She opened the box and inside was a simple white gold necklace with a small solitaire diamond hanging from it.

"Wade," she gasped, "It's beautiful but it's too much! Are you sure?"

"I wouldn' have given it to you if I wasn'" he insisted.

"Can you help me put it on?" she asked, turning her back to him. He took the necklace and undid the clasp. He put it round her neck, moving her hair out the way. When the clasp was done, she turned to him and kissed him.

He deepened the kiss, running his tongue along her bottom lip. Allowing him access, he pulled her onto him and lay down on the bed, rubbing his hands under her shirt.

"Wait," she stopped him, "Is this not too painful for you?"

"No, not at all!" he said. He was lying of course but she didn't need to know that, he missed kissing her too much for the pain to stop him. Even though he felt a lot better, major movements were still a problem.

She went back to kissing him and he moved his hands to the front of her shirt. She moaned softly into his mouth when his hands slipped under her bra. He slid one hand to the top of her sweat pants and snuck his hand in. She bit down on his lip, trying to stay quiet because Harley was downstairs. He tried to flip her so that he was on top but let out a painful gasp as he did it. She stopped kissing him immediately.

"You told me you were fine!"she scolded. He went a deep shade of red.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded.

"I missed kissing you… and other stuff." She smacked his chest.

"No. No more until Harley gives you the all clear."

"Ew, Doc. I ain't gonna ask Harley when it's safe for me to feel his daughter up!" She rolled his eyes.

"Not like that, you perv! When he gives you the all clear to get back on the football field, I'll give you the all access pass to Zoe Land. Until then, we are closed for business."

"All access, you say?" he winked with a big smile. She blushed.

"Uh… I didn't… I didn't mean ALL access… I uh… you know, the usual access pass that you buy at the gate when you get there," she said flustered.

"Ok, Doc. Whatever you say but when those all access passes become available you let me know, ok?"

"Do you… is that what you want? I mean… are you ready to buy an all access pass?"

"Well, I ain' gonna pay you for it cause that's all kinds of illegal," he said, jokingly.

"Wade, be serious here!"

"I don' know Zo. I mean, I've thought about it lately. I ain't gonna pressure you in any way but I do know that YOU are the one I want to… use my all access pass with for the first time," he said, keeping with her analogy.

"Ok… I will keep that in mind…" she said. She leaned in to kiss him again and when he tried slipping his tongue in his mouth she pulled away.

"Nope, closed for business, remember?"

He pouted. She giggled seeing his face.

"So I can't even kiss you?" he asked, desperately.

"Nope! Unless we are standing up and there is no way for us to get carried away so that you hurt yourself again!"

"In that case, stand up!" he said, enthusiastically.

"You are such a boy! We can kiss tomorrow, you need to go before Harley comes rushing in here."

"You know, as a future doctor, you should know that by not allowin' me to kiss you and stuff, you are causin' more harm than good."

"If you're gonna say it's because your lips need TLC or else they'll fall off or something like that, I'm going to smack you!"

"I wasn't thinkin' about my lips, Doc… Things are gonna start goin' blue soon, I swear! I'm gonna have to start appreciatin' you myself, if you know what I mean!" She looked at him and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of what he meant. When she realized, she smacked his arm.

"That doesn't happen! Now go!" she pushed him out the door as he laughed heartedly. He left her room laughing and came back a few seconds later, kissing her passionately. He turned around and walked downstairs, leaving her head swirling as all his kisses did.

That night in bed, she thought about what he said about wanting to have sex. She wanted to but she wasn't sure she was ready yet. They were already super serious and she was worried that it was too much too soon. She decided to take the time it would take for him to heal to think about if it's what she wanted to do.

**Author's note: So I don't like it when they fight BUT it's not realistic if they are just happy all the time so that's why I added some angst. Thanks for all the love for this story, means a lot and it motivates me more to keep writing ****J****Hart of Dixie tonight and even though a lot of us have seen it already, we get a promo afterwards, yay! Next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	18. Chapter 18

Two days after Christmas, things with Wade were back to normal. He would spend time at her house but when it came to getting things done like getting dressed, he would do it himself. His road to recovery took a positive turn and he almost had zero pain. She still offered to help but he declined and had gotten quite good at doing all that over the past week anyway. They had been invited by George to spend a few days at his parents' lake house, including New Years Eve. The trip was scheduled for two days time and Zoe still hadn't asked Harley. That night, at dinner, she brought it up.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yes, dear?''

"George invited me to spend New Years with him and the rest of the group at his parents' lake house. Can I go?"

"I suppose. I'm not entirely fond of the idea but I want you to enjoy your time with your friends," he said reluctantly.

"You're the world's greatest dad! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm going to tell Wade!"

"Now wait a minute, you need to finish your dinner first."

Zoe shoveled the food into her mouth and ran out the front door into Wade's house. He was lying on his bed when she rushed in.

"My dad said I could go!" she said, panting.

"That's great Doc! I can't wait to NOT have to say good bye to you come midnight for three whole days."

She climbed onto his bed and snuggled into his left side.

"I'm gonna miss you bein' allowed in my room when I'm all healed!" he said softly, stroking her hair.

"Me too," she whispered, tracing patterns on his hand.

On the morning of the 29th of December, they were all packed and ready to go. They went in two cars and finally, after an hour and a half of driving, they arrived.

They spent the rest of the morning unpacking their rooms and the kitchen. The couples were sharing and AB and George were staying in what was normally his parents' room.

"Still can't believe they let us come here all by ourselves for a few days," AB exclaimed as she lay on the deck later that afternoon, sun tanning.

"Well, Lavon and I are already 17 and they let Harry come here at that age. We all can drive and Lemon and you know how to cook so they weren't worried," George said, "besides, I'm way more responsible than Harry was at my age."

Lavon got up from his spot and jumped from the porch into the lake. Lemon followed and soon everyone was swimming. Wade stayed where he could stand because treading water would require him to move his arms a lot and he knew that would probably be painful. Zoe swam to him and tried to stand but she was too short and she went under the water.

She came up spluttering, "I hate how tall you are!"

"I think you mean how short you are," he said, laughing. He waded back to shallower water and stopped where she could stand comfortably. He turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her gently and started fiddling with her bikini bottoms. The water was dark so the others couldn't see what his hand was doing. He slipped his hand underneath the material and she gasped.

"Wade," she whispered, feeling her face heat up despite the cool temperature of the water.

"What? They can't see what I'm doin'!" he said innocently, a playful smile on his lips.

He moved his hand and she closed her eyes, enjoying what they hadn't done in a long time. She snapped out of it quickly and swam a little bit away from him. He gave her a disappointed look.

"Closed for business, remember?" she said, loud enough so only he could hear.

"You said if we were standin' up and couldn' get carried away in case I hurt myself!" he said, insistently.

"No, I said we could KISS standing up, nothing more."

He stuck his bottom lip out.

"But I'm basically all healed," he muttered. She swam closer to him and kissed him lightly. He deepened the kiss and she pulled away.

"How is this so easy for you? You manage to control yourself so well!" he whined.

"It's definitely not easy for me, trust me. But I don't wanna see you get hurt…" she said as she intertwined her fingers with his.

"I won't! But I'll keep my hands at my side, promise," he said as he tugged her hands gently and she moved closer. He pressed his lips to hers and she sighed softly, opening her mouth. He slid his tongue in and she let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her into him and put his hands on her hips, keeping them still. He dug his hands into her hips lightly and pulled her as close as she could possibly go. Their hips were pressed tightly together and she could feel that he wanted more. She obviously missed the physicality of their relationship since he broke his ribs and feeling him want her like this was making it difficult for her to resist. He was a lot better than he had been with only major arm movements and twisting being painful so maybe it wouldn't be so bad but she didn't want to risk him hurting himself. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and went back to focusing on his kisses.

"Would you two get a room!" George yelled, swimming up to them and splashing them with water. Breaking apart, Zoe nuzzled in his neck and Wade laughed loudly.

That night, the guys started a fire in the fire pit near the house. Wade and Zoe sat next to each other, a blanket draped over them with her head resting on his shoulder. She was staring into the flickering flames, playing absentmindedly with the necklace Wade had given her. Her other hand was intertwined with his.

"Look what I brought from home!" Lemon said, waving a bottle of tequila.

"No, I'm not drinking that. Sorry but I'm out," Zoe said.

"Don't be such a goody two shoes, Zoe!" Lemon said. Ever since her mom left, she had been quite the rebel. Zoe loved being her friend but she didn't like it when she was pushy like this.

"It won' be too bad, Zo," Wade whispered to her and nuzzled into her neck, tickling her with his stubble.

"You aren't having any either, Wade. You are on seriously strong pain killers. It's dangerous," she said loud enough so that only he could hear. He looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"I'm serious, Wade. Don't give me that look." He sighed and nodded, knowing that she was right.

"So you're gonna play a drinking game with no alcohol? Where's the fun in that?" Lemon pressed.

"We jus' won' play?" Wade suggested.

"Man, you are so whipped," George said, "just cause she isn't drinking doesn't mean you don't have to."

"I'm on pain killers, Tucker," Wade said back in a tone that indicated that George shouldn't say anything more. George rolled his eyes.

"I can think of a few much more fun things we could do other than watch them play drinkin' games," Wade whispered into her ear, sucking lightly on her ear lobe. She sucked in a breath. She really wanted to but she had said no action until he was fully healed.

He unlinked their hands and put his hand on her knee. Looking up and seeing the others were focusing on the game, he ran his hand up her thigh slowly, still sucking on her ear.

"Isn't this much more fun?" he whispered, his voice gruff. His hand was now just at the hem of her dress. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"But we can't…" she said, without much fight as his hand slid higher. She really wanted to go back to the room with him and his hand was going higher and it made her thoughts fuzzy.

"Ok, we don' have to," he whispered, moving his mouth away from her ear and sliding his hand out from under her skirt. She let out a disappointed whimper.

"You're not playing fair…" she said looking at him, her eyes wide with desire.

"How am I not playing fair?" he asked daringly, a glint in his eye.

"You were doing that thing you know I like with your tongue and your hand was moving higher and it's… it's just not fair!"

"And why is that?" She knew he was teasing her.

"Cause it makes my head fuzzy and it makes me want you and it makes me want to go back to our room and it's not fair!" she whined.

He let out a low chuckle.

"And why can't we do all those things?"

"Well…" she said as his lips moving back to her ear. "Well cause…" She couldn't think.

"Can't think of a good reason, Doc?" he mumbled into her neck, his hand now back on her thigh. She closed her eyes again.

"Cause…" her voice trailed off. His hand had reached dangerously high territory. He hooked one finger on the top of her underwear, ready to pull it down.

"Cause we… the others… they are around…" she finally managed to get out.

"Ok, so let's go back to the room… Like you said," he whispered his voice thick with want. She just nodded, giving in. He stood up and pulled her up with his left hand.

She hadn't even closed the door yet and his mouth was on hers. He pushed her towards the door, pushing it closed with her back. His hands were on her cheeks and she ran her hands down his shoulders and up his shirt. He moved his hands to her waist for a second but then moved them up to push her jacket off. She grabbed hold of his shirt and tugged at it causing him to lift his arms. She pulled the shirt off and threw it to the side. Running her hands down his chest, her hands landed on his belt. She started unbuckling it and he moved his mouth to her neck. She leaned her head back against the door and moaned softly, pulling his belt off. He pressed himself against her and moved his hands behind her. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He held onto her tighter and stepped backwards. She tightened her legs around him as he made his way to the bed. Laying her down, he ignored the dull pain throbbing in his side. He climbed on top of her and lifted her arms above her head. He glided her dress off of her, leaving her in her underwear. She undid the button of his jeans and he pulled them off, leaving them at the foot of the bed. He went back to kissing her, smiling as he did so. She laughed slightly and her breath tickled her lips. Moving to her shoulder, he trailed kisses back up her neck. He started grinding his hips against hers.

"Wade," she moaned lightly. He pulled her underwear down, leaving her only in her bra.

"Wait…" she said.

"Too much?" he panted, pausing.

"No… just… are you sure this isn't hurting your ribs? I don't want you to be in any pain?"

"Shouldn' I be worrying about YOU bein' in pain, Zo?" She flushed. He continued, "I swear, I'm fine! No pain!" She nodded and he resumed kissing her, moving his hands to her back and unclipping her bra. Roaming his hand over her chest, she moaned into his mouth. He slid his other hand down her waist and started grinding his hips against hers again. He moaned and she moved to kiss his neck and ran her hands through his hair.

"Zoe," he murmured. He reached up and took her hand in his and moved it to his boxers, indicating that he wanted her to take them off. Sliding his hand back up to her chest, they carried on kissing but she didn't move her hand, leaving his boxers on.

"Zoe," he murmered again, almost pleading.

"Stop," she said. He pulled away immediately, never wanting to feel that he was pressuring her. She was breathing heavily.

"It's too far," she said once her breathing slowed down. He nodded.

"Zoe… I am SO sorry!" he said, his eyes wide.

"It's ok… I'm just not ready for that. And I know you are but… I'm not," she said.

"I know you aren't and I NEVER… I would never force you or do anything you weren' ready for, you know that right? I got carried away. I'm so so sorry."

"I know you wouldn't. And I got carried away too… but that's the problem."

"I'm glad you stopped me, Zo."

"I'm glad I was able to stop myself before we did anything more… I would have regretted it and I don't want to regret my first time!"

"I know… I would have hated myself if you regretted it."

"We just need boundaries, Wade… I know we probably went overboard cause it's been a really long time with your accident and our fight and everything… But we need to stick to those boundaries! Because I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself next time…"

"Ok… So… these boundaries… how bout I say what I think we should allow and if you agree, then we stick to that?" he asked. She nodded.

"But wait," she said, sitting up.

"Yeah?" he asked, worried.

"Can I get dressed first?" He let out a relieved laugh and nodded. They pulled on their clothes and lay back on their bed, side by side.

"Ok, so… how bout we leave our clothes on? Anythin' that we do needs to be able to be done with underwear on?" he suggested. She thought for a moment and nodded.

"You also have to stop that… grinding thing you do with your hips," she said.

"But… I'm not the only one who does it!"

"Ok fine, we will both stop. But NONE of that cause it makes me lose control," she said and she blushed.

"Makes you lose control huh? Make you feel that good?" he said with a wink.

"Not the time, Wade."

"Sorry," he muttered, looking down, "So do you feel ok with the boundaries? I jus'… I don' wanna do nothin' but if that's what you want then I of course will do nothin' until you're ready?"

"No, I think for now those are fine. Let's see how it goes and if we get carried away, we'll reassess, ok?" He nodded.

"Zo, I promise you I won't let us get into the situation we were in tonight. I can't expect you to be the only one to put the brakes on and I swear, until you tell me you're ready in a nonsexual scenario where your head is clear, I will not allow us to get this far again, no matter how bad I want it. I want to show you that you can trust me, Doc."

"Ok good cause there might be a time where I will want it really bad… but me wanting it and me being ready isn't the same thing which is what I realized tonight."

"Oh I know! How could you not with a sexy boyfriend like me?" She laughed and smacked his chest. "Don' worry, Doc. Hell, you could be beggin' and pleadin' and seducin' me but I swear, I won' let it get out of control. I am the man after all and since you took my man card by saying you loved me first, I'm gonna win it back by provin' that I can be the man you need."

After lying there for a while, they got dressed into their pajamas and got ready for bed. Zoe curled up into him as he turned off the light.

"I could get used to sharin' a bed with you," he whispered into the darkness after a long moment.

"Me too… Who knew someone with your abs could be so comfortable to lie on! Here I thought it would be sleeping with a bag of rocks!" she teased.

"Ha ha, you're a real comedian," he responded, kissing her forehead. She giggled.

"Good night, Doc. Love you!" he said.

"Love you too," she replied as they both drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

"This is not ok!" Zoe complained loudly as she walked into the kitchen. Harley looked up from his breakfast.

"What isn't, dear?"

"Why is the earth on fire? It is the middle of February!"

"I don't recall it ever happening in February but it happens every now and then."

Harley smiled at his daughter who was now sticking her head in the freezer.

"What are your plans for today?" he asked.

"Lavon is coming over; we have to work on our science project," she replied, the sounded muffled because she was still in the freezer.

"That sounds good, I best get into the office. People tend to go a little crazy during a heat wave so it'll be a busy day, full of patients," Harley said, getting up and putting his plate in the sink.

Lavon came over about half an hour later and they settled in to work on their project.

"I can't concentrate," Zoe said a while late, "It is too hot." He laughed.

""Lavon Hayes would like to welcome you to your very first Bluebell heat wave. Where hot and bothered takes on a whole new meaning."

"Meaning?"

"People tend to go a little crazy around here. Get ready to see half naked people go full on crazy!"

"I don't wanna see that!"

"You better watch yourself girl cause the fever hits every one eventually. Pretty soon, your freaky deaky will be on full display."

"I doubt it."

"Mmhmm," Lavon said, nodding knowingly.

"Let's just get back to work. The faster we get this done, the faster I can sit in a bath of ice all day!"

After about 3 hours, they were done with their project and made plans to meet up at Lemon's house later; Lavon had called her from Zoe's house to plan a get together. She had a pool and the group was going to spend the afternoon there and then go to dinner at the Rammer Jammer. She went into her room and was sitting on a seat she had near her bed; it was too hot to sit near the window. She had the fan on, facing her. She saw Wade come into his bedroom, a towel wrapped around his hips. He was so hot, she thought to herself. Obviously she always thought that but today he just looked extra yummy. She watched him as he dried his hair with another towel and bit her lip as the towel on his hips came loose and almost slipped off. He managed to grab it in time and she was disappointed. When he was done drying his hair, he removed his towel and she watched him dry himself, his back facing her. She watched the muscles in his back tense as he dried his body. She wondered briefly how he looked the way he did because he never went to the gym and football wasn't that intense. She felt weird checking out her boyfriend like this because she had seen him naked so many times and she could look at him anytime she wanted to but this felt different. Watching him like this, she felt so… turned on. Since the almost sex at the lake house, Wade had been very careful and stuck very firmly to the boundaries. They still had a lot of fun and couldn't keep their hands off each other but he was very careful to not get them into situations where they might lose control. Watching him now though, she was so sure she wanted to take that next step. He pulled on a pair of boxers and shorts and she walked to her window now that he was dressed.

"Checkin' me out Doc?" he said with a smirk when he saw her.

"You know it," she said with a wink. He flushed slightly.

"We are gonna go to Lemon's later, you ok with that?" she asked.

"We gonna swim?" She nodded. "Well then hell yeah I'm okay with that! Gettin' to see you in a bikini? How could I not wanna go?" She smiled.

"Uh… I got somewhere I gotta go first so I'll just meet you there?" she said, anxiously. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Where? I'll just come with you?"

"Uh… No, it's ok, I won't be long. Just have a quick errand to run…"

"Should I be worried?" he asked, not sure what to make of her nervousness and sudden change in demeanor.

"Nope, not at all! I'll meet you there in like an hour?"

"Uh… yeah, sure…" he said, unsure.

"I love you!" she said, as she turned to walk out of her room.

"Love you too," he called after her.

She walked into town, trying to stay out of the sun as much as possible. She walked into the pharmacy and went to the counter.

"Good day, Miss Hart. How may I help you today?" the pharmacist said. It was days like this that she hated how everyone knew everyone in this town.

"Um… Hi Mr. Brown. I came to pick up a prescription. It's on file under my name; I brought it in a few months ago."

"Let me see… The prescription for… Oh… Um… Let me get that for you then," Mr. Brown said. Her face burned as he went to fetch the pill.

"Zoe, it is so lovely to see you! We haven't seen you much around town lately." Zoe heard a voice say behind her. She turned around and saw Dash standing there.

"Hi Dash… yeah, I've just been busy with school and stuff…" she said, fiddling with her hands.

"Are you sick?" he asked. She could practically see his hands twitching to write a new story.

"No uh… just needed to pick up something, no big deal," she said with a smile. Mr. Brown returned with her pill in a brown paper bag.

Handing it to her, he said, "Now remember, Miss Hart, you can only start with this on the first day of your period. You start with the silver section and follow the arrows and the days. It's more effective if you take it at the same time every day."

She pressed her lips together and nodded, her face feeling hot. She mumbled a thank you and made her way out of the pharmacy, her head down as Dash called out a goodbye as she moved passed him.

She ran into her house and put her pill in her bathroom cabinet, got her swimsuit and a towel and walked over to Lemon's house. When she walked in, Wade and George were play wrestling next to the pool in their clothes. George pushed Wade in the pool, laughing triumphantly. He stood up after going under the water and faced her, his now see-through white shirt clinging to him. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked towards the edge of the pool. He smiled at her as he took off his shirt. Her mouth parted and her throat felt dry. It was as if he was moving in slow motion. The water was dripping down his body and she had the sudden urge to lick every single droplet off his chiseled chest.

"Hey, Doc," he said, his hands folded on the side of the pool, looking up to her. She was brought out of her thoughts and swallowed hard.

"Hey, Baby," she smiled when she finally got her voice back.

"Come on in! Nothin' more freein' than jumpin' into a cool pool on a hot day," he said with a smile that turned her legs to jelly. She honestly had never wanted him this badly before and she had no idea why she suddenly felt this way. Maybe Lavon was right, maybe the heat was getting to her.

She went inside and changed into her swimsuit and jumped into the pool. He was talking to Lavon and AB who were now also in the water. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, feeling the heat radiate off his body. He pulled her round to his side, her arms still wrapped around him. He had taken off his shorts and was now just in his boxers. She slipped her hand into the back of his boxers and squeezed his butt cheek. He kept a straight face but moved his own hand behind him, taking her hand out of his boxers and holding it in his own. She was watching him talk to Lavon and AB and was captivated by how his Adam's Apple bobbed up and down as he spoke. She didn't hear what anyone was saying and leaned over and brushed light kisses to his collar bone as he spoke. AB and Lavon looked at each other awkwardly, Wade suddenly stopping midsentence. Lavon cleared his throat but Zoe didn't stop.

"Uh… hey there Doc… What you doin'?" Wade asked, pushing her away slightly. She shrugged, biting her lip before moving back towards his neck. He stepped back slightly and looked at AB and Lavon uncomfortably.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Zoe, what are you doin'? I'm tryna have a conversation here?"

"I just want to…" she replied, moving closer, her eyes dark with desire. He held her shoulders.

"Zoe," he said, firmly but not angrily.

"Ok, I'll stop," she mumbled and they turned back to Lavon and AB.

"So… ok… yeah…" Lavon said before Wade continued with the story. He wrapped his arm around her to show that the attention was always wanted but that it was just not the time for it.

The rest of the afternoon, she had been unusually touchy with him. Her hands were always on him and it made the rest of the group uncomfortable at times because it would often be when they were in the middle of the conversation when she would start kissing him or roaming her hands over his body. As the sun started to set, they went to get ready to head to the Rammer Jammer. While walking there, Wade hung back to talk to Zoe while the others walked ahead of them.

"What has gotten into you today? Don' get me wrong, I love it when you are like this but you don' act this like in front of the others usually?"

"You're so sexy, Wade," she responded seductively and stopped walking. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back for a minute and then pulled himself together, took her hand and they jogged to catch up to the rest.

They sat at a table in the back of the Rammer Jammer and Wade made sure that he wasn't sitting next to Zoe, instead sitting opposite her. He reached across the table and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb along the top of her hand. They were all having a good time, laughing and seemingly forgetting about the unseasonable and sticky heat. From the looks of things, Zoe had gotten over her sudden need to try get into Wade's pants.

About half way through dinner, Zoe slipped her shoe off under the table and rubbed her foot slowly up Wade's leg. He shifted in his seat and gave her a look then looked over at the others to see if they suspected what she was doing but they seemed oblivious. She moved her foot higher and higher and she saw that he was gripping the tablecloth as she made her way up his thigh. She put her foot lightly into his crotch area and he jumped up from shock and arousal, knocking the table with his knees causing his drink to spill onto the table.

"Wade? Is everything ok?" AB asked, concerned. He looked over at Zoe and she had a sly smile on her face.

"Uh… yeah… sorry… I uh… I need some air," he said and rushed towards the door. Zoe got up and followed him.

She caught up to him just outside and he dragged her behind the Rammer Jammer.

"Zoe, what is going on with you?" he asked, pacing.

"Don't you like what I'm doing?"

"Of course I do! But… you're turnin' me on, Zo. So badly. And that's not a good thing!" he said, his voice a whisper.

"I think it's a good thing…" she said, walking up to him and grabbing his hands, forcing him to stop pacing.

"Zo… You know I am tryin' so hard to keep things under control cause you aren' ready yet. But when you do things like that…"

"Wade, I'm ready," she said firmly. He made a low growl in the back of throat but shook his head.

She kissed him hard and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pushed him towards the wall and just before he reached it, he turned them around and pushed her up against it instead. She opened her mouth and he put his tongue in. She ran her hand down his chest and stuck it into his pants, cupping him. He let out a moan and moved his lips to her neck. She leaned her head back and took her hand out of his pants, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his hips. He moved his hands to her behind, holding her steady.

Out of the blue, he put her down and stepped back. She looked at him, eyes filled with disappointment.

"We can't, Doc," he said, breathless.

"But why? I'm ready!" she insisted.

"Cause you deserve more than the back of the Rammer Jammer in the middle of a heat wave!"

She looked at him, her gaze softening.

"The heat makes people crazy, Doc. If you are still ready once the heat breaks, I swear I'll make it the most special night of your life cause you deserve it to be everythin'… We both do!" He was pleading.

"Ok," she said, walking towards him.

"Ok?"

"Yes, thank you Wade. I love you so much. You are such a great guy for being so strong for me!"

"I am pretty great, aren' I?" he said cockily. He leaned in and kissed her before taking her hand and going back into the Rammer Jammer. She laughed and nuzzled into his shoulder as they walked inside.

**Author's note: Sorry it's so late! Next chapter will be up Tuesday.**


	20. Chapter 20

The following week, the heat subsided and things were back to normal. Zoe and Wade hadn't spoken again about Zoe being ready for sex. Despite him thinking it was just because of the heat, Zoe still felt like she was ready but she hadn't brought up the topic again. That Friday during English, Wade passed her a note. She unfolded it after making sure the teacher had her back turned to the class. Reading it, she got a big smile on her face and looked at him, eyes full of excitement. _Got something special planned for tonight. Think you'll enjoy it. _

She put extra effort into her outfit and make up that night. She put on the perfume he had given her for Valentine's Day and went downstairs to sit with Harley while she waited for him. When she opened the door after he knocked, she tried to hide her disappointment. He was dressed MORE casual than normal, if that was even possible.

"Wow, Zo! You look amazin'!" he said when he saw her, missing the disappointment that flickered across her face when she saw him.

"Thank you," she responded softly.

"A bit over dressed but I'll be the envy of every guy there!" he said with a wink, leaning in and giving her a light kiss. "You smell good," he whispered and called out a loud "Hi Harley," through the door. Harley said hello and told them to enjoy their night and reminded them of her midnight curfew. He led her down the porch steps and opened her car door for her. Once she was in, she leaned over and opened his door for him as he walked around the front of the car. She buckled her seat belt as he got in. He leaned over and unclipped her seat belt.

"Now that your dad isn' around, I can give you a proper kiss!" he breathed before taking her lips in his. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slightly. The kiss was slow and intimate, something they didn't do often but Zoe found herself wishing they did it more. When they needed air, they pulled away, resting their foreheads together, smiling. He kissed her softly again for a few seconds and then sat back in his seat and started the car.

"So where are we going?" Zoe asked when they drove past a sign indicating that they were leaving Bluebell.

"It's a surprise but it's awesome!" he said with a grin. He put his hand on her knee and she put her hand over his.

They drove for quite some time and eventually he pulled into a parking lot and Zoe saw hundreds of trucks and men in plaid.

"Wade… What is this?"

"It's a Demolition Derby!" he said, his voice full of excitement.

"You have got to be kidding me!?"

"What?"

"Nothing… nevermind. You're lucky I love you," she muttered but he didn't hear her. They walked into the stadium and Zoe felt uncomfortable. Everyone was looking at her and as they walked, the men were cat calling to her. Wade squeezed her hand and dragged them to their seats. When they got there, a guy stood up and greeted Wade.

"Zoe, this is Meatball. He and I used to play in a band together till he moved to Mobile."

"Oh cool… It's good to meet you," she said with a smile.

"Hey," Meatball said and added a "Nice" under his breath to Wade which Zoe heard and she gave an awkward laugh in response.

Wade spent the rest of the night talking to Meatball and focusing on the demolition. Zoe hated it. It was loud and the guy on her right smelled like he had bathed in a barrel of scotch. He was chewing tobacco and would spit every so often which made Zoe want to gag. She would look at Wade every now and then and when he noticed, he would give her hand a quick squeeze and focus his attention back on Meatball.

"How awesome was that?" Wade said animatedly when they were finally on the way home.

"Mmhmm," Zoe said.

"Did you see that truck at the end? Man it was so so awesome!" He spent the rest of the drive home talking about it and she just agreed every now and then to seem like she had been paying attention to it.

They got back to their houses at 11:15 and Wade walked her to her door, his hand on the small of her back.

"So we still have 45 minutes till curfew," he whispered, stroking her wrist with his hand. He leaned down and kissed her passionately, pushing her towards her front door. He wrapped his hands around her waist and fumbled to open the door. She pulled away before he managed to get it open. He gave her a questioning look, a crease forming deep in between his eyebrows.

"I'm kinda tired," she said, looking up at him.

"Oh… Ok… You wanna just go cuddle on the couch?" he asked shyly. She smiled; he would never admit it to anyone but her but he loved cuddling.

"I actually think I'm just gonna go to bed. Rain check?" His face fell slightly but he recovered quickly.

"Ok, night Doc. I love you!" he said before pressing his lips to hers. Before he got too into it, she pulled away and smiled.

"Love you too, Wade. Uh… thanks for tonight," she said before giving him a peck and going into the house.

He went into his house and cleaned up a bit in the kitchen before going upstairs. When he went into his room, he expected to see her waiting for him but her light was off.

The next morning when Wade went downstairs, Zoe was in the kitchen eating breakfast and talking to Earl. He was drinking a cup of coffee. She had woken up that morning and decided to forget about the horrible date they had.

"Morning Doc, Dad," he greeted, rubbing his eyes trying to wake himself up more. He sat down next to Zoe and gave her a quick kiss before grabbing her coffee and taking a sip.

"Mine!" she said and he smirked.

"You're up early today Dad," Wade said, looking at Earl.

"The pretty lady came over and kicked me out of bed, told me to take a shower and when I came out here, she had made coffee," he responded, his voice steady meaning he was sober. Wade turned to Zoe and gave her a grateful smile. "Think I'm gonna go fishin' with Bob seein' as I'm up before noon," he continued and Wade told him it was a great idea knowing that Bob, his dad's oldest friend, would make sure he didn't drink too much. Earl downed the rest of his coffee and left the kitchen.

"I'm workin' a double shift today but what you wanna do tomorrow Doc?" he asked, playing with a loose strand of her hair.

"I was reading in the paper that there's orange picking up in Fairhope and I thought we could go spend the day, bring a blanket…" she said, excitedly.

"Mmm, maybe pose for a JCrew catalogue too," he said, scrunching up his nose.

"Please, please, please… please," she begged.

"Alright I'll do it for you but I expect you to show me some serious gratitude afterward, huh…" he said, leaning in to kiss her neck and she giggled.

"You know what? Deal! We'll have a good time I promise!" she laughed and he put his hand on her cheek and nodded before leaning in and kissing her.

He ended work past midnight that night because there was an event at the bar so by the time he got home, she was already asleep. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, he went to pick up his paycheck at the Rammer Jammer and ran into Meatball. He lost track of time talking to him, making plans for the day and saw Zoe enter the bar.

"Oh hey Baby, what's up?" he said as she walked towards him and he held his hand up to high five her. She returned the high five, thinking it was weird because they never did that but she brushed it off.

"Listen, Meatball is in town for the day so we're gonna go hang out, jam some music." Her face fell and she looked at Meatball awkwardly before looking at him.

"But we were supposed to go orange picking today," she said. Meatball burst out laughing and Wade smacked him on the chest telling him to quit laughing.

"Baby, I am so sorry. I totally forgot!"

"Well I certainly don' wanna interfere with orange pickin' day," Meatball interrupted. Zoe's face burned and she looked away.

"You know what, you guys, you should just go do your thing," she said to Wade.

"No, you really wanted to do this and I'm… happy to go orange pickin'!" Wade insisted.

"Don't be silly. Meatball is already here. We can go orange picking any day. It's no big deal. You two have fun," she replied as sincerely as she could without trying to sound disappointed. She gave him a peck on the cheek and walked out the Rammer Jammer, not seeing Wade and Meatball exchange impressed glances and a fist bump.

Zoe sat down, with a huff, at a table containing a kissing couple at the Butterstick. Lavon and Lemon pulled apart and looked at her.

"What's up Big Z?" Lavon asked, seeing his friend pouting with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Wade," she replied simply. Lemon nodded in a manner that showed she was unsurprised.

"What he do now?" Lavon questioned.

"He took me to some stupid Demolition whatever on Friday night and it was horrible! He spent all night talking to some guy named after his resemblance to a side order!"

"What? Who?" Lavon asked.

"Meatball, obviously!" Lemon interjected.

"And then we were meant to go orange picking today and he ditched me for him!"

"Oh Big Z… Meatball kinda comes and goes and when he's here Wade doesn't make the brightest decisions. He'll snap out of it, don' hold it against him."

Zoe sighed.

"Really, Zoe. Last time Meatball was in town, they somehow managed to get into the Foxtrap and Sheriff Bill had to be called after Meatball tried to take the dollar bills out of the stripper's underwear to pay for their drinks!" Lemon said.

"He went to a strip club?" Zoe asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it must have been about a month or so before you got here."

"Do you… do you think he's there now?" she nervously questioned, hands playing with the sugar packets on the table.

"Uh… Probably not…" Lemon responded, unconvincingly.

Zoe put her head in her hands and grumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?"

"I was going to tell him today that I was ready… And now I'm not so sure!"

"Ready for what?" Lavon asked.

"You know…"

Lavon shrugged, shaking his head.

"Sex," she whispered.

"You haven't had sex yet?!" Lemon gasped loudly, people around them looking at their table. Zoe sunk down into her chair and blushed but shook her head.

"No, no, no. Lavon Hayes did not need to know that!"

"You asked!"

"How is it possible? You guys are always ALL over each other!"

"Yeah ok, says the girl who had her tongue down her boyfriend's throat in the middle of the Butterstick! We are just really strict with our boundaries and neither wanted to do it before we were ready. He was ready a while ago but I only realized the other day but now I'm not so sure. He just completely forgets about me when his friend is in town!"

"Talk to him about it, Z. This is Wade, he's gonna do stupid things A LOT!"

Zoe laughed and nodded. She felt better and sat back in her chair. Lavon cleared his throat.

"What?" she asked.

"Uh… are you done?"

"Yeah. Why? Is there something else I should be talking to you about?"

"Well no… it's just… if you're done, we kinda wanna get back to what we were doin' before you arrived," Lavon said, moving his eyebrows up and down.

"Gross!" She got up and left the Butterstick, going home.

When she got up to her room, she heard music and made her way to her window. Meatball and Wade were standing in his room with their guitars. It wasn't her kind of music but he looked like he was enjoying it.

He caught glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. He stopped playing and walked to his window.

"Where you been?" he asked with a sincere smile.

"Just chatting to Lemon and Lavon. I didn't think you'd be home!" she answered.

"Where else would I be? Meatball lives in Mobile." She shrugged.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and read. Enjoy your time with Meatball. I love you!"

"Love you too, Doc."

Later that night, he was over at her house. After dinner, Harley had gone to bed and they were cuddling on the couch, Zoe lying with her head on Wade's chest while he ran his hand through her hair.

"Where'd you think I'd be today when you asked, Doc?" Wade asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"The Foxtrap," she mumbled, after a while.

"Did you say the Foxtrap?"

"Yeah…" she said, shifting and playing nervously with the visible part of his chain.

"Why would I be there?"

"Don't know? Lemon told me you got caught there a couple months ago when Meatball was last in town."

"That was before you got here, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know… But I don't know… You've kinda been… distracted this weekend…" Her voice trailed off at the end of her sentence. She wasn't looking him in the eye. He sat up, bringing his hand to her chin and lifting it so she was looking at him.

"I'm sorry Zo… Meatball is a good friend of mine but he's very different to all my other friends. Kinda brings out a different side of me, I guess."

"It's ok. I don't expect you to apologize. I just didn't know but now I do… when Meatball is in town, don't make plans to go orange picking," she said, teasing him.

"You do know I wouldn' go to the Foxtrap now, right?" She just nodded lightly.

"I know you don' believe me but it's true, Zo. First of all, I don' wanna see anyone else in such teeny outfits. Only you! And second of all, you changed me Zoe. You make me want to be better! I love you so much Zo," he said, voice full of sincerity.

"I love you too, Wade. More than I can even begin to express."

"Maybe you can start by wearin' somethin' teeny and sexy!" he said with a wink. She smacked his chest and laughed. He always knew how to ruin a moment with an inappropriate comment. He kissed her, silencing her laugh. It was the same kind of intimate kiss they had shared on Friday in the car; one full of love.

"Hey, Wade?" Zoe asked after coming up for air.

"Yeah, Doc?"

"How come when you… told me you were a virgin you said you'd never seen anyone but me naked? If you've been to a strip club, you must have…" He laughed.

"We got there at like lunch time. There was some ol' woman kinda half dancin' but not really and she still had her underwear on. And within 2 minutes, Meatball had already tried to grab the money out of her panties and we were kicked out within 5 minutes. Probably was only allowed in in the first place cause there was no actual strippin' happenin'. We could never pull off bein' old enough! Not as excitin' as I'm sure Lemon made it seem."

She burst out laughing. "Definitely not what I thought! Bluebell and their rumors! This town never ceases to amaze me!"

"It sure is full on crazy! Probably why you fit so well in here!"

"Hey!" she said. He laughed again, kissing her. Pulling apart a few minutes later, she snuggled into his chest and they cuddled for the rest of the night until he reluctantly made his way home at midnight.


	21. Chapter 21

Zoe was up early the next Saturday morning. She cracked 3 eggs into a pan and scrambled them up, picking out a few egg shells that had fallen in when she cracked them. Reading from a recipe book, she put butter into another pot and stirred it, the mixture changing consistency. When she was done cutting up fruit and the toast was ready, she put all the food on a plate, set up a tray with juice and napkins and walked out the front door, taking the tray with her.

Letting herself into Wade's house, she walked upstairs and went into his room. He was asleep, lying on his back with his right arm above his head. She smiled and walked to the bed. She shook his shoulder and he opened his eyes, blinking slowly.

"Happy birthday, Baby!" she said when he looked at her, his mouth forming a lopsided, tired smirk.

"Thanks, Doc," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"I made you breakfast in bed."

"You… cooked?" Wade asked skeptically.

"Yeah! I made grits and eggs," she responded with a big smile, handing him the tray.

"Grits, huh? I think I'm a little bit afraid," he said but took a bite anyway.

"I can make grits!"

"Well, thanks for making breakfast. The eggs are… edible actually"

"I'm really glad that you liked them!"

"The grits however… they're just… not!"

"What? Yes they are!" she insisted.

"By all means," he replied, holding the fork out for her. She leaned forward and he fed her the grits. She pulled a face and he held out a napkin and she spat the grits out into it.

Crumpling the napkin up and putting it on the tray, he smiled up at her.

"Thank you for breakfast Doc. Best thing to wake up to on my birthday! Well… maybe not the best thing…" he winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Can I get my birthday kiss now?" he asked, puckering his lips. She laughed and pressed her lips against his.

They spent the rest of his birthday with Lemon, Lavon, AB and George hanging out and relaxing. That evening, they went to Fancie's with Harley and Earl. Zoe was really impressed that Earl was sober and was dressed in a work jacket and tie. As the appetizers arrived, Harley asked Wade about his day.

"So Wade, what did Zoe get you?" he asked.

"Uh… well… she didn't," he started but Zoe cut him off.

"I got him a belt," she finished quickly. Wade looked at her and narrowed his eyes. She gave him a look.

"A belt? That's… special," Harley said hesitantly.

"Well, it's a really nice belt," Wade said, keeping up the front.

Harley nodded and asked Earl something about fishing. They were talking enthusiastically and Wade looked at Zoe, waiting for an explanation.

"I can't give you your real gift until we're alone…" she whispered, leaning in close. His eyes widened and he looked over to Harley and Earl but they weren't paying attention to the young couple. Harley was telling Earl about a fishing trip he was taking the next weekend in Pensacola with an old school friend.

"I'll give you a hint though… It involves an all access pass," she continued, rubbing his leg.

"Are you serious?" he asked, his voice high. He cleared his throat and looked at her. She nodded and he put his head down, smiling to himself.

At the end of the night, they drove back to their houses in Harley's car. Harley left Zoe and Wade standing on the porch and went inside. Wade kissed her and thanked her for making his birthday so special. After a few minutes, she reluctantly went inside and met him at her window, like she did every night.

The following Friday, Harley left early that morning for his weekend away with his friend. Zoe was under strict instructions that Wade was not allowed to stay over. Wade was waiting to walk her to school, as usual, and while they were walking hand in hand to school, she finally decided to bring up what she had told him at his birthday dinner. She had thought he would talk to her about it or at least try something but they hadn't done anything more than a few stolen kisses the whole week.

"So Harley is away for the weekend," she started.

"Yeah, I heard him telling Earl on Saturday," he replied, looking ahead.

"I'm alone at home… maybe you could… stay over?" she asked, shyly. He looked at her and smiled slightly.

"I would love to but I kinda made plans with George and Lavon for tonight and I'm workin' tomorrow night."

"Oh. Ok… No biggie. I'll maybe invite Lemon and AB over for a girls' night. Should be fun," she said, trying to sound cheery.

"So what you doing with George and Lavon?"

"We're gonna play this new video game George got. Gonna hang out at his house, probably stay over."

"Sounds fun," she said and changed the subject. She was a bit upset because she thought he would be really keen to stay over but a girls' night would be fun.

At lunch, AB and Lemon sat down opposite Wade and Zoe.

"Hey guys! Harley is out of town this weekend! You wanna come over for a girls' night tonight?" she asked once they settled.

"Yeah that sounds… ow!" AB said. She looked over at Wade and glared. He had kicked her under the table. Wade shook his head discretely so that Zoe wouldn't notice. "I mean… we can't tonight. I have to have dinner with my parents and Lemon is babysitting Magnolia," she finished lamely. Lemon looked at her confused and the look in AB's eyes told Lemon to agree.

"Yeah, with Harley being gone, my dad is on call so I gotta watch Magnolia. Bummer!" Lemon added with fake disappointment.

"Oh… Well I guess some alone time would be good. Maybe I can have a long bubble bath and read that book I've been meaning to start," Zoe said, talking more to herself than to them.

That night, Zoe was relaxing in the bath when a noise coming from her room startled her. She sat silently for a while hoping it was just her imagination but then heard another noise. She climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself and picked up her flat iron. She exited the bathroom swinging the flat iron like a baseball bat, eyes closed.

"Don't come any closer, I have a weapon!" she yelled. She heard a familiar laugh and opened her eyes, dropping her hands to her side.

"Wade! What are you doing here? I thought you were a murderer or something!"

"Oh yeah, cause Bluebell is known as the crime capital of the US! Nice outfit by the way," he added with a wink.

"It's not funny Wade! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry, Doc. Come here," he said, stepping in and drawing her into a hug. "Did I really scare you?" he asked into her hair. She nodded.

"What are you even doing here? Why aren't you with George" she asked after a while.

"I have a surprise for you, Princess. Get dressed." She eyed him suspiciously but got dressed anyway.

"What do I need to wear?" she called to him from her closet. He was lying on her bed watching her look through her clothes.

"Don' matter. Somethin' comfy." She ended up choosing a simple yet sexy black dress with white lining.

"Is this ok?" she asked, walking up to the bed.

"You look hot!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. He jumped off the bed and claimed her lips in his. He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms tightly round her waist.

"What was that for?" she asked, breathlessly when they pulled apart.

"Just cause you're beautiful and I love you," he said with a smirk. She blushed and kissed him again. After a while they pulled apart and he led her down the stairs.

Once they were in the car, she rested her hand on his knee and once he had reversed into the road, he took her hand in his.

"So where we going?" she asked after a short while.

"I already told you, it's a surprise."

She sighed out of frustration. "What happened to your plans with George and Lavon?"

"Oh… yeah… those didn't exist," he said with a shrug.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked angrily.

"Cause I've been plannin' this since I heard Harley tell Earl he was goin' away and I didn' want you to think I was up to somethin' and ruin it!"

"Oh… Sorry for getting mad," she said and kissed his cheek. He turned into the old plantation and drove down the dirt road. He parked outside the carriage house and she saw a dim glow coming from the windows. When they walked inside, there were candles everywhere and in the middle of the room, there was his comforter from his bed along with a few pillows.

"Wade!" she gasped, "it's beautiful!" She looked at him and he had his hand shoved deep into his pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"You think?" he asked warily.

"It's perfect!" she insisted. She took a step closer to him and turned to face him. The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy and she was so nervous but also excited. He smiled nervously and leaned down to kiss her. He started off slowly but soon the passion increased. He moved her back until she was standing on the comforter and moved his lips to her neck. She pulled him closer, her arms around his waist. He broke away and rested his forehead against hers.

"So… what do we…" she started.

"Uh… let's uh… sit on the comforter," he suggested. She knelt down and he followed. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. The nerves subsiding, he let his hands roam her body, over her clothes. He unzipped her dress and slid it off her. She moved her hands and tugged at his shirt, pulling it off. She deftly undid his belt and threw it to the side. She moved to sit on top of him, feeling him through his jeans. She unbuttoned his jeans but he kept them on, kissing her shoulder while she ran her hands through his hair, leaning her head back. Her grinding her hips against his, a movement that they had been very careful to avoid over the past few months, caused him to let out a moan. He moved so that he lay her down on the comforter and took his jeans off. He unclipped her bra and trailed wet kisses down her chest. She bit her lip as he reached her belly button. He hooked two fingers into her panties and slid them down. He moved his mouth back to hers, mimicking her grinding motion from earlier, now with only the thin material of his boxers between them. He pulled his boxers off and reached over into his jean pocket, pulling out a condom. Moving back to lying on top of her, he slid his hand down and kissed her again. She kissed him back but paused for moment. He stopped moving immediately.

"Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly, shifting so that he was directly on top of her.

"No, no! I want this," she insisted and kissed him, encouraging him to continue.

Later that night, Zoe was lying in his arms and he was tickling her back. They weren't speaking but were enjoying the silence. Both were thinking about what had happened and they were so glad they had waited until both were ready and sure. Zoe could not have asked for a more perfect night. It was kind of painful but Wade was very loving and cared about making her feel comfortable. Even though it was not what she had been expecting, she wouldn't change it for anything.

"We should go," he said, kissing her hair.

"I don't want to leave you," she whined.

"You think I'm gonna leave you alone for the rest of the night? I want to fall asleep with you in my arms but I didn' bring another blanket so we might get cold. Let's go back to your house?" he suggested. She nodded and he sat up. They got dressed and Zoe helped him pack up all the candles.

When they got back to their houses, Wade parked in his drive way and opened the car door for Zoe. They walked to her house and went upstairs. He stripped down to his boxers while she changed into her pajamas. When she was done getting ready for bed, he was lying in her bed and she smiled before climbing in and snuggling into his chest. They fell asleep a while later with smiles on their faces.

**Author's note: So there you have it. I don't know when I'll update again, this weekend is kind of hectic. Any suggestions on where you'd like to see this go would be welcome, I like to incorporate your ideas if I can so feel free to message me or suggest in the reviews. **


	22. Chapter 22

The rest of the school year flew by. Before they knew it, it was the first week of summer holidays. Zoe was helping out at the practice every morning and Wade was still working at the Rammer Jammer but he had taken on more hours and was sometimes working as a server as well as a bus boy. They were still incredibly happy and while they had their arguments every now and then, they would always sort it out before it got too out of hand. Even though they were now together for 10 months, they were still as crazy in love as they were in the beginning, not being able to keep their hands off of each other and finding ways to be alone seeing as Harley still had his strict no bedroom policy intact. They hadn't been caught that first night they were fully together but Zoe seems to think that he knows something happened because since that night he doesn't go to bed as early when Wade is over and when he does, he leaves his bedroom door open.

The first Friday of the holidays, AB and Zoe were sitting at a table in the Rammer Jammer having lunch while Wade was working.

"So do you miss George already?" Zoe asked while putting a fry into her mouth. George had left the day before to go to a 2 week college tour with his parents to decide which law school he wanted to go to.

"We are not you and Wade. We can go a few weeks without seeing each other," she replied with a smile.

"Hey! We can so go a few weeks without seeing each other; we just haven't had to yet."

"Oh Zoe Hart, you can't even go a few hours without seeing him. You fall asleep at your window every night while talking to him!" Zoe pouted. "It's not a bad thing, I think it's cute how in love the two of you are. George and I are so happy but we aren't so head over heels as you two are," she finished with a tone that indicated she wasn't all that happy about.

"Is everything ok with you and him, AB?"

"Yeah, we're ok… I just… I look at you and Wade and you guys cannot keep your hand off each other and George and I had that in the beginning but now we've kinda calmed down and well… I'm kind of jealous," she said bashfully, her cheeks turning red.

"So what do you mean you've calmed down?" Zoe asked, taking a sip of her soda.

"Well a few months ago, things got pretty heated and we almost had sex. And since then, he just doesn't kiss me as much anymore. We barely even hold hands; it's like spending time with my brother! And I hate it!"

"Oh AB… You should talk to him about it! Maybe he's feeling the same way. Wade and I talk about this stuff all the time. Which is not easy because trust me, that boy and communication go together about as well as fish and a bicycle. We took our physical relationship really slow and spoke about every step and while we couldn't keep our hands off each other, we stuck to the boundaries pretty well and when one didn't, the other was strong enough to put the brakes on. So talk to him because communication about this stuff is as important as doing it. You just don't see our communication side of things; you just see how we are always kissing and holding each other."

"Honestly, and I don't mean for this to sound bad but, I never thought I would see Wade Kinsella in a healthy, stable relationship!" Zoe burst out laughing and nodded.

"Talk to him, remember when we had that fight in Mobile? When I thought Wade was over me?" AB nodded and Zoe continued, "It was pretty much the exact same situation. He wanted to go further and was scared to tell me. I bet George is feeling the same! He is a 17 year old boy after all!"

"You're right. Thanks Zo! I'll be right back, gonna go to the restroom," she said as she got up.

Zoe sat at the table watching Wade as he took an order from a nearby table. He walked past her towards the kitchen and gave her a wink and a smile before disappearing from view.

"Hey there," a deep voice said and Zoe looked up. A young guy with dark blonde hair was standing at her table.

"Hi," she said, smiling slightly at him.

"If I had known the girls in Bluebell got so much prettier, I would have come back sooner!" he said giving her a familiar looking smirk. She laughed politely.

"May I sit down?" he asked, pulling out a chair.

"Well, I'm waiting for my friend to get back from the restroom and I don't think my boy…" she stopped suddenly when a fist hit him in the nose and he fell to the ground. Wade was standing there, his hands still balled up in fists as the stranger held his nose.

"Wade! What the hell! Are you really that jealous that you punch a random guy that was just talking to me?" she yelled.

"I didn' punch him cause I was jealous! I mean obviously I don' like seein' other guys talkin' to my girlfriend but that's Jesse," he responded calmly. Zoe took his hand and pulled him to the other side of the Rammer Jammer. AB came out of the restroom and went to see if Jesse was ok.

"So I take it you didn't know he was coming back?" Zoe asked once her and Wade were standing in the corner, away from the commotion.

"Nope."

"Are you going to speak to him?"

"Nope."

"Wade…" she said, almost begging.

"Zoe…" he said, copying her tone.

"You should talk to him, he's your brother."

"No, Zo, I know you think this is for the best but really it isn'. He walked out when things got tough leavin' me to look after my dad."

"But maybe if you talk to him he will understand how bad things were? They are so much better now and maybe he'll stay and help Earl get even better!"

"Doc… Please don' push this."

"Ok," she said, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

"I love you for tryna help Zo. But some things are better left alone," he said, drawing her close to him. He lifted her chin and kissed her lightly.

That night, Wade came home from work and found Earl and Jesse sitting in the lounge. They were looking at old photographs and laughing. Wade could tell that his dad was sober, something that would now happen about two or three times a week.

"Hey dad," he said as he walked in.

"My boy, look who came for a visit!"

"I see," he responded, bitterly.

"Not gonna greet your brother?"

"Saw him at the Jammer earlier. Gave him the warmest greetin' I could think of," he said, looking at Jesse and noticing slight bruises under his eyes from his blow to the nose. "What are you doin' here?"

"I came to visit dad, see how he was doin'."

"Firs' time in 3 years. You must really care," Wade spat.

"I was busy. In case you forgot, I was fightin' a war!"

"Oh how could I forget what a war hero you are! Why don' you just leave now that you've seen he's fine. Go ahead, take care of yourself war hero. It's what you always do." Wade walked up to his room and sat on his bed, rubbing his forehead. A crumpled piece came flying through his window, hitting him on his leg and he looked up, seeing Zoe sitting on her window sill.

"Hey Zo," he said, getting up.

"Hey Cowboy. You ok?"

"I guess," he shrugged.

"What happened?"

"He came to see my dad. To see if he's fine. Firs' time in three years! Earl was sober tonight meanin' that he's gonna leave thinkin' things back here are perfect and he won't be back for another 3 years or maybe even longer. Leavin' me to pick up Earl's mess every other night when he isn' sober."

"Why don't you tell him that things aren't THAT great? That they're better than they were but that you need his help?"

"He won' listen, Doc."

"Maybe he will. You don't know unless you try. Either way, I support what you decide."

"How'd I get so lucky to have found someone like you?" he asked with a loving smile.

"My mom believed in free passes and now I live in Alabama." He laughed.

"Am I interruptin' somethin'?" Jesse voice said from behind Wade. He was standing in the doorway and walked towards the window.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'll be downstairs reading if you wanna come see me later?" Zoe said, looking at Wade.

"Thanks, Zo. I love you," he replied as she stood up.

"Love you too!"

"So that's your girlfriend huh?" Jesse asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Yeah, the one you were flirtin' with earlier!"

"Sorry 'bout that. If I had known…" his voice faded, the silence growing thick again. "Never thought I'd see the day my baby brother would be so into someone. Especially so young!"

"She's pretty much changed my life. Don' know what I'll do without her. Hopefully I'll never have to find out," Wade said vulnerably.

"Wow sounds as if you found what mom and dad had?"

"Yeah… I think I have. I love her so much it hurts sometimes," he said with a laugh.

"I'm happy for you, bro," Jesse said giving Wade a slap on the back, "So dad looks good?"

"It's better than it was before you left but he's only sober two, three times a week. You caught him on a good day. I could really use your help, Jess."

"I… I wish I could but I just… can't. I can't move back here and go through all this again."

"So you just gonna leave me to deal with this forever then? We are meant to be family!" Wade said, growing angry.

"I can't."

"You are meant to be some brave soldier and you don' even have the courage to stick around and help me?" Wade yelled.

"I'm… sorry Wade," Jesse said softly, squeezing his shoulder and walking out of the room.

"Coward!" Wade shouted after him, as the door closed. He paced around his room for a few minutes and went downstairs to find his dad opening a bottle of scotch. He sighed and walked out the door. Jesse's car was gone.

Walking into Zoe's house, he saw her sitting on the couch reading her book. He sat down on the couch and she looked up at him, expectedly.

"I spoke to him, told him I needed help," he whispered.

"And?" she said, sitting up and taking his hand in hers.

"He said he couldn' move back and go through all this again. He left." Zoe sighed.

"I'm sorry Baby."

"It's ok; it was what I was expectin'. I was hopin' he'd maybe step up, give me a chance to a life outside of Bluebell after school but yeah…" Zoe's stomach turned. She had never thought about what would happen when she went off to college, she kind of assumed he would go to college as well and hoped they would go together. In her mind, she saw them together in Baltimore studying; her at Johns Hopkins and him at another college. She felt stupid and selfish for never considering the fact that he couldn't leave his dad even now that he was doing a bit better. Her dream was to become a doctor and as much as she loved Wade and didn't want to leave him, she couldn't stay in Bluebell and achieve that dream. There were still a few months before applications opened so maybe by then Earl would be even better and Wade could leave. Deep down, she knew that would never happen though.

"Zo?" he asked, bringing her out of her daze.

"Sorry, zoned out for a minute. What were you saying?"

"Just asked if you wanted to watch a movie or somethin'?"

"Sure, sounds good," she said with a smile. She got up and chose a movie.

"How come you get to choose?" Wade asked with a pout.

"Because you love me," she answered with a wide smile

Wade gave a defeated sigh but smiled, "Yes, that I do. Come here," he said, pulling her onto the couch and snuggling up to her.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note: Just a short fluffy chapter for you :) Am busy writing the next one and will hopefully get it up Friday before HOD :) **

"You going to the party tonight?" George asked, sitting down opposite Wade and Zoe at a table in the Rammer Jammer.

"Hell yeah we are! 'Member what happened last year, Doc?" Wade said.

"Oh shush, we agreed to never speak about it again!"

"What are you two talking about? You weren't together yet at the 4th of July party last year?" George asked, confused.

"Oh, we weren' together but that don' mean Zoe didn' try make a move!" Zoe rolled her eyes.

"I did not try make a move! I was drunk and wanted to go swimming. That's it."

"Mmhmm, ok Princess. Whatever helps you sleep at night!"

"Not my fault you got scared when you saw me undress!"

"I told you there were snakes in that water!"

"They only snake in that water that night would have been you!"

"But you like my snake," Wade quipped back with a wink. Zoe hit him on the chest and George looked as if he was about to puke.

"Ok Wade, listen man, when they say don't go there, there is the there that they're talkin' about!" he said, getting up, "I'll uh… see you tonight. Will pick you up at 5." George ran out of the Rammer Jammer with his head down.

The party was in full swing and Zoe and Wade were both feeling quite tipsy.

"This is the night where everything changed for us, Baby," Zoe said to Wade, taking a sip of her wine cooler.

"Yeah, it was... we were pretty much inseparable after this night last year!"

"I can't believe it's already been more than a year since I moved here!"

"I know! You realize that in exactly a month we've been datin' a year?" She suddenly flung her hands around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"Gettin' you in the mood?" Wade asked, pulling away slightly. She just nodded and kissed him again. As he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, she pulled away quickly, looking over to the DJ booth.

"Oh my gosh Wade! I LOVE this song! Let's go dance!" she yelled, dragging him onto the dance floor.

"Zoe… I don'… I don' really dance. Especially not to songs like this," he said as she dragged him through the crowd. A song with a heavy dance beat was playing.

She stopped in the middle of the dance floor and he stood there with his hands awkwardly shoved into his pockets.

"Dance Wade!" she yelled over the music.

"I'm ok," he replied. She rolled her eyes and moved towards him. She grabbed his hands and put them around her hips and wrapped her hands around his neck. She pressed her hips against his and started swaying. He tightened his hold on her and mimicked her movements.

"Ok, so I like THIS kind of dancin'," he said into her ear. She laughed and kissed him, still swaying her hips.

"You wanna go somewhere more private?" he asked after a while. She nodded and he dragged her towards the pond.

They got to the spot where they had sat the year before and Wade didn't hesitate to kiss her intensely. She immediately moved her hands to his belt but they pulled apart when they heard people laughing and the noise was getting louder.

"There you are!" Lemon slurred.

"We've been looking for you! We're gonna play a game!" Lavon said, holding up a bottle of tequila. Unlike last time the tequila was brought out, Zoe was too drunk to say no.

"What game?" she asked, arm around Wade's waist.

"I have never," Lemon said, sitting on the ground. Lavon sat next to her and George and AB followed. Wade and Zoe sat so that the group formed a circle. Lemon poured 6 cups and handed them out.

"I'll start," said AB drunkenly, "I have never ridden a horse."

"No, AB. That's stupid! It has to be sexual, it's way more fun that way!" Lemon insisted.

"Ok, fine! Uh… I have never uh… had sex," she finished, blushing. George looked down, not making eye contact with her and took a sip. Everyone else did too. AB shot a glare at Lemon and George but composed herself quickly.

"I have never showered with anyone before," George said next. Zoe and Wade were the only two that drank.

"I have never given a strip tease," Lemon said. Zoe blushed and took a drink. Wade gave a satisfied smirk.

"I have never had sex in public," Lavon said. Zoe and Wade looked at each other slyly and took a sip.

"Wait, wait, wait. You have to tell us this story!" Lemon demanded. Zoe giggled, the tequila making her feel even more light headed than she was before.

"A few weeks ago, we were walking around town and…" Zoe started.

"There was no one around so we went to gazebo in the middle of town square and things got heated and… yeah," Wade said, finishing the story.

"Oh ew! We had lunch there yesterday!" AB gasped. Zoe laughed loudly and Wade sat silently looking awfully proud of himself.

"I have never… uh… I have never…" Zoe said but then stopped. "I can't think of anything."

"Damn right you can't!" Wade said, cockily. Zoe rolled her eyes but laughed.

"Oh this is ridiculous. I am never playing this game with you two ever again!" Lemon said, getting up. The rest of the group followed, leaving Wade and Zoe sitting there alone.

"Do you think we've done too many things? I mean… we haven't even been having sex for that long?" Zoe asked.

"Nah, they're just jealous of all our awesomeness!" Wade responded with a grin.

"Oh please!" she laughed.

"Seriously Zo, we're just a little ahead of the game. We love each other and make each other happy and we enjoy it so why not?"

"You're right. Besides, we burn a lot of calories so we don't have to go to that yucky gym!"

"That's the spirit!" he said, laughing. He wrapped his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder.

"So you wanna go swimming?" she asked, teasing him.

"That'd be fun!" he said, getting up and unbuttoning his shirt.

"You serious?"

He nodded. She got up and took off her shoes. She dressed down to her underwear and stood waiting for him. He pulled down his jeans and boxers. She stared at him standing there naked. She gave him a questioning look.

"What? Scared of me seein' you naked, Princess?" he said with a laugh. She stripped down and they made their way into the water.

"You coulda said this for your 'I have never'," he said, his arms wrapped around her waist and her legs wrapped around him.

"Oh well, too late now!" she said giggling, playing with his hair. She kissed him just as the fireworks started.


	24. Chapter 24

"15 hours!" Zoe exclaimed loudly, banging her head on the table repeatedly.

"15 hours till what dear?" Harley asked, looking up from his newspaper.

"That is how long it would take to drive from here to Baltimore."

"Ah, I see."

"And don't even get me started on flights! 4 hours and there are NO direct flights. 400$ a ticket!" she moaned, slamming her laptop shut.

"Zoe, may I offer my advice?"

"Please do! Cause I have no idea how Wade and I are meant to make this work!"

"You need to follow your dreams. Choose the college you love and everything will work out. With all the new technology these days, you and Wade will be just fine."

"I guess... It's just so hard. It takes a LONG time to become a doctor, I don't know if we can survive all those years so far apart."

"Zoe, as much as I like Wade, you can't base your future career on how far away your boyfriend will be."

"I know… I know but that doesn't make it suck any less!"

A few days later, Zoe slumped down into the booth at the Rammer Jammer. She grabbed a handful of fries off Lemon's plate and shoved them into her mouth.

"Zoe Hart is there a reason why you are eating like a pig or is it just because you and Wade have finally warped into one person after spending too much time together?"

"Itjsnd fonfn vonfn snfinrfn fnfiowof nfjnf" she replied with the food still in her mouth.

"I see it's the second option then." Zoe glared at her and swallowed.

"Applications have to be in in a week and I have no idea which colleges to apply to! I've been researching like crazy, I haven't slept, I've barely eaten."

"Since when do applications have to be in in a week? Oh my gosh, please don't tell me that!" Lemon said, panicking.

"I'm applying for early admission so it has to be in by next week. I'll find out if I'm in or not by the end of the year."

"Oh thank goodness! You scared me for a minute, thought I misread the dates!"

"Lemon," she whined.

"Oh right, not about me right now. What's the problem? I thought you were set on Johns Hopkins?"

Zoe didn't say anything but looked over at Wade who was clearing a table nearby.

"Oh, right. Wade."

"Yup."

"So what about the University of Alabama? Oh, we could be roommates! We could be sorority sisters!"

"Ok, first off, I would never join a sorority and second of all, the University of Alabama is ranked 149th in the US. I mean, it's a great school but not for medicine. Johns Hopkins is ranked 12th."

"Well whatever you decide, I'm sure he'll support your decision." Zoe gave her a small, grateful smile.

A week later, Zoe went to the post office and posted her applications. She felt sick but knew it was out of her hands now. She hadn't been spending a lot of time with Wade since she had started her research because she didn't want him to see her toying with this decision. She knew he wouldn't hear any of it and demand that she only apply to Johns Hopkins because she had been dreaming of that school since she was little. She walked over to Wade's house and let herself in.

"Hey Earl," she said as she walked into the lounge.

"Pretty Lady," he slurred. She sighed. Obviously today was not one of his good days.

"Wade here?"

"Upstairs I think."

"Thanks." She made her way upstairs.

"Hey there Cowboy," she said as she walked into his room. He was lying on his bed throwing a baseball up at the ceiling.

"Hey stranger. Feels like I haven' seen you in forever!" He turned and faced her. She climbed onto the bed and lay with her head on his chest. He started playing with her hair.

"I'm sorry. I've been trying to get my admissions essay done and it's just been a crazy few weeks."

"Well, I'm sure you knocked it outta the park. Johns Hopkins is gonna be lucky to have you."

"Do you ever… think about what's going to happen with us when I go off to college?"

"Well, I know that it's not gonna be easy but we'll make it work. I love you and I'm not gonna give up on us just cause we're states apart," he said trying to sound as sure as he could.

"I love you! Thank you for being so supportive of my dreams!"

"Of course Zo, I'll always be here for you." He kissed her forehead and leaned his head back onto his pillow. He was trying not to let on how scared he was for the moment she went off to Baltimore. He knew how far away it was and he had researched costs of flights but they were just so expensive. He would fight like hell to make their relationship work but the road to becoming a doctor was a long one, let alone becoming a heart surgeon. At this moment in time, he could picture being with her for the rest of his life but he wasn't sure what was going to happen with her so many hours away for so many years. He could never leave Bluebell as long as Earl was still a drunk and he knew that she would never work so hard to become a heart surgeon only to return to Bluebell and work with her dad. He closed his eyes, trying not to think of what seemed inevitable. He really wished the foreboding feeling that was forming in the pit of his stomach would disappear soon. He wasn't going to let whatever might happen in the next few years affect the rest of his senior year with Zoe. He held her close and enjoyed the moment.

"I still don't know what to go as for Halloween!" Lemon moaned sitting on Zoe's bed.

"Let's do matching costumes! Zoe wouldn't cause she's matching with Wade," AB said.

"Oooh, I like that idea. Can we go look in Mobile?"

"Sure. Zo, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, sounds good! Let me just get changed real quick." She went to her closet and Lemon got off her bed and walked to the window.

"So Wade really is right next door. I didn't realize it was so close. It's not even 6ft."

"Yeah, it's pretty great!" Zoe said, gushing.

"So do you like… change in front of him and stuff?"

"Lemon! You can't ask her that!" AB said, "but do you?" Zoe laughed before answering.

"No! Well… Not a lot."

The next night, Zoe walked downstairs dressed in her costume. Harley was making himself dinner.

"What is that?" Harley asked.

"What is what?" she asked, peeling a banana.

"The very few threads of fabric barely covering your body."

"It's my costume!" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Dad come on, it's covering everything that needs to be covered!"

"I don't like it; put pants on underneath that skirt."

"Dad, no. You are over reacting!"

"Zoe, I don't…" he was interrupted.

"Woah, Zo. You look hot!" Wade exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen. Harley narrowed his eyes at him.

"Sorry, I mean… Hi Harley. You ready, Zo?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my hat and my hand cuffs," she said, running upstairs. Wade smirked after her but stopped when he saw Harley looking at him.

"So, matching cop outfits I see?" Harley said.

"Yeah, figured we'd go all out, bein' our last Halloween before she goes off to Johns Hopkins and all."

"Ok, I'm ready. Let's go. Bye dad," Zoe said, kissing Harley on the cheek. She grabbed Wade's hand and ran out the kitchen before Harley had time to say anything.

The Rammer Jammer was packed with pretty much everyone in town. Lemon and AB were sitting at a booth Wade had managed to reserve because of his job. They were in Wonder Woman and Cat Woman outfits.

"Looking good, guys!" AB said when Wade and Zoe sat down.

"Thanks, AB. You girls look good too. Where's Lavon, Lemon?" Wade asked.

"He is having trouble with his costume, Lord knows why because it's not that complicated but anyway."

Just then Lavon and George walked into the bar and spotted the group sitting in the booth. George, dressed as a fireman, whispered something to Lavon, who was dressed as Don Todd, and shoved his hands into his pockets, making a bee line for the bar where a group of his football friends were standing. AB shifted in her seat uncomfortably and looked down.

"You ok, AB? Wanna get some air?" Zoe asked.

"No, I'm fine. I just helped him pick that costume last month when we were still together. Didn't think he would still wear it."

"Have you spoken to him since you ended it?"

"Nope, I've been avoiding him for three weeks. And as you can see, he's been doing the same."

"I'm sorry, AB."

"No, it's ok! I'm fine! Let's just have fun tonight."

About an hour later, a girl approached George at the bar and flirted with him. AB was watching what was happening and sighed when, for the third time that night, a girl handed over a piece of paper, presumably with her number on it, to him. Just as she walked away, another girl approached him and AB huffed.

"Go play interference, go distract him!" Zoe whispered to Wade and he gave her a pleading look.

"Go!" He sighed and got up reluctantly.

"Hey Tucker, what's up?" he said, slapping him on the shoulder and stepping in front of the girl, blocking her off. He looked back at Zoe and she was smiling.

"Hey Wade," George responded, forgetting about the girl. She stepped around Wade and made herself seen again.

"Well, hello there officer," she said, turning her attention to Wade. George rolled his eyes.

"Uh… hi," Wade said awkwardly. She put her hand on his shoulder and he moved his arm away, taking a small step back.

"Arresting anyone tonight?" she said seductively, leaning in close to his ear. Zoe was watching this interaction and tightened her grip on the fork she was holding.

"Easy there, Big Z," Lavon said. She got up and walked over to where they were standing.

Wade laughed uneasily at the girls comment. Before he had a chance to respond, Zoe stepped in between them and folded her arms across her chest.

"I suggest you go find someone who isn't taken, skank," she spat. Wade and George exchanged glances. The girl's mouth fell open.

"Run along now. Or wait, I have another suggestion. Go find someone in another bar. Or better yet, another town." The girl walked back to her friends looking defeated. They grabbed their bags and left.

She turned and faced the guys, their mouths hanging open.

"Damn girl, I've never seen that side of you before! I like it, I could get used to it," Wade said, snaking a hand around her waist. She pushed it away.

"No you won't because no girl better get that close to you unless you're having a heart attack and they're giving you CPR!"

"Duly noted," he said seriously but couldn't stop the smirk forming on his face.

"And what is your problem?" she said.

"Doc, I'm sorry but that was just really sexy!"

"Not you! You!" she said, looking at George.

"Me? What did I do?" George said, lifting his hands.

"You have been flirting with these girls all night right in front of AB's face. You guys broke up three weeks ago, show some damn respect."

"She was the one who wanted to end things! She couldn't get over the fact that I had slept with Lemon before we got together. That's on her!"

"George Tucker, you are so dumb! Come on Wade, let's go back to the party." She stormed off. Wade shrugged and followed her back to the booth.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note: So I know it's been a while! Sorry, I've been working on another story which I'll put up next week and I kinda got stuck. I knew where I wanted to go, I just wasn't sure how to put everything together. This chapter is kinda short but it's an important one. Will try update early next week! Thanks for all the reviews, faves and follows! They make me happy!**

"I got in, I got in!" Zoe shouted, running into the Rammer Jammer. Wade looked up and saw her approaching and managed to put his tray down just in time. She flung herself into his arms, knocking the air out of him.

"I knew you would, Doc!" he said into her hair, squeezing her tight.

"Oh my gosh, I am so excited! Maybe over Spring Break we can road trip and you can see where I'm gonna be spending the next few years?"

"Sounds great! But listen, I better get back to work. How bout I take you for dinner in Mobile tonight to celebrate?"

"Ok! I'm gonna go get ready!" She kissed his cheek and turned to leave.

"But it's only 11am? We're only going tonight!" he called after her.

"I know but I'm just so excited about everything! I'll see you later!"

At 6 that night, Wade came home from work to see Zoe sitting on her porch bouncing her knee up and down. He got out of his car and walked over.

"Hey Doc, how long you been sitting here waiting?" She shrugged.

"Like a few hours, I'm not sure. Can we go now?"Wade chuckled.

"Can I shower first? I'll be quick."

"If you must…" she said, pouting.

"I must, I've been standing all day and cleaning dirty dishes. I'll be like 10 minutes."

"Ok, hurry!" He jogged to his house and ran upstairs, laughing at how crazy his girlfriend was sometimes. He loved her for it though. His heart clenched briefly at the thought that in a few months, she would be 15 hours away. He knew he should be as excited as she was but a little part of him couldn't help but hate that she didn't seem to be sad that she would be gone.

That night at dinner, Wade put on his best supportive boyfriend face; nodding along when she spoke about how excited she was to finally start her journey as a doctor and how this college allows for all her dreams to come true. While she was speaking, he was trying to figure out who would hire him to do odd jobs around town so that he could earn more money to visit her more often.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," Wade said, walking up her porch steps.

"Thank you. We are gonna make this work, you'll see."

"What? How did you… What are you…"

"I know you Wade. I know you are scared about what's going to happen. I promise you, it's going to work. Trust me!" He nodded and she stood on her tip toes up and kissed him gently.

"I love you," she whispered, pressing her forehead against his.

"I love you too," he whispered back. He pulled her into a hug and they stood there for a while until she went inside.

"Ok, everything for our road trip is set! Can't wait for tomorrow!" Zoe exclaimed to her dad over breakfast.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Zoe? You don't think Wade might get upset?"

"Upset over what?"

"Well, you've been lying to him for 2 months now." She rolled her eyes.

"Technically, I haven't been lying. I just haven't corrected him."

"A lie by omission is still a lie, Zoe."

"Can I still take the car or not?" Zoe said, changing the subject.

"Of course you may. I just hope this doesn't backfire on you."

"Of course it won't Dad! I'm doing this for him."

"And you are sure this is what you want?"

"Yes, I am positive! This is my dream school!"

The next morning, as the sun was rising, Zoe and Wade were putting the last of their bags in the car.

"You sure you don' wan' me to drive, Doc?" he asked skeptically. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure! I'm a good driver!"

"Of course you are; I taught you!" She stuck her tongue out at him, walking to the driver's side.

"I'm jus' sayin', wouldn' you rather the teacher to drive, rather than the student?" Wade said, getting into the car.

"Well, the student is about to become the master. No more moaning. We have a fun road trip ahead of us! I can't wait for you to see my new school! I even made a road trip playlist!" He laughed lightly.

"Start it up then girl!"

Country music filled the car and Wade gave her a look.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Have you gone country, Zoe Hart?"

"Maybe just a bit but I blame you!"

"Well, I'm happy to take the blame." He took her hand and laced their fingers together.

They stopped in Auburn for breakfast and a bathroom break then got on the road again.

"So this is Atlanta, huh?" she said approaching the city.

"Yup, it's a pretty cool place. Maybe one summer when you come back from Baltimore, we can take a longer trip here and not just drive through it."

"Mmhmm, sure," she said absentmindedly. She turned off the highway while Wade was looking at the map.

"We weren' meant to turn off here, Babe," he said looking up from the map.

"I'm pretty sure this is right," she insisted.

"No, we are meant to stay on this highway until Charlotte."

"I know where I'm going Wade."

"You have to pee again?"

"Uh… yeah."

"You're actin' weird, Doc."

"No, I'm not! I just have to pee." Wade shrugged and looked out the window, deciding not to argue with his girlfriend.

About 20 minutes later, they still hadn't stopped for Zoe to go to the bathroom.

"Zo, I thought you had to…"

"We're here!" she interrupted, pulling into a parking lot.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"My new college," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She climbed out of the car and Wade followed.

"But… but isn't Johns Hopkins in Baltimore?"

"Yup," she said nonchalantly walking to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"But we're in Atlanta?" he asked softly.

"We're at Emory University to be exact. Ranked 21st in the country so it's still a great medical school but most importantly, it's only 5 hours and 42 minutes away from you."

"I don' wan' you givin' up your dream just for me, Zoe," he whispered pulling her close. She shook her head stubbornly.

"This is my dream Wade. Go to a good medical school AND be near you. This way, it's the best of both worlds. A 5 hour drive is easy enough for us to spend weekends together when we want to and it won't be too expensive either!"

"It's closer to a 6 hour drive actually," he said with a smirk.

"So you're not mad I kept this from you? I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Of course I'm not mad. But are you SURE this is what you want?"

"Yes! I promise! Now come on, let's walk around." She grabbed his hand and they walked around the campus. Zoe's eyes were shining with excitement when they went into the library and when they saw some lecture halls.

Later that night, they were having dinner at a local café.

"You are sure this is the school you wanna go to?" Wade asked, for the millionth time that day.

"Wade, come on! You have to stop asking me that. I swear, this is it! I am so excited! The campus is great and everything seems amazing!" She squeezed his hand across the table.

"I'm sorry I keep askin', I just don' want you to regret this."

"I will never regret this! You saw how amazing this campus is, I am so excited!"

"Ok… I love you so much, Zo. I am so glad you chose this school!"

"Me too baby. I love you too!"

The rest of the week was spent exploring the campus and getting to know the local hang outs. When they made their way back to Bluebell, they were both happy with the choice Zoe had made. They both knew that this was going to work and Wade was really excited to have her so close by. Her surprise just made his senior year that much better.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's note: Thanks to the person who reviewed on 02/01 as a guest. Don't know your name but you know who you are. Really appreciate your input with regards to how becoming a doctor works. I put something in this chapter that will explain Zoe's next few years to everyone so thanks for your knowledge, it's much appreciated! **

"So how was your Spring Break?" Zoe asked Lavon sitting in Chemistry.

"It was really good, the coach at 'Bama let me train with them a couple of times. I really can't wait to be properly part of the team!"

"That's awesome! I'll try my best to come watch some of your games!"

"How was your road trip? How did Wade like Baltimore?"

"Well, actually… I chose Emory University in Atlanta. I wanted it to be a surprise for him so I didn't tell anyone. He was really happy when he found out I'll only be 6 hours away and the campus is great and I'm so excited!"

"That's awesome Z! So I am not really clear on the whole becoming a doctor thing. How long you gonna be away from us?"

"Well, I start with pre-med in the fall and that's 4 years then I'll go to medical school, hopefully at Emory as well but I'll apply to other places as well just as a backup."

"How long is that?"

"3 years."

"Wow, 7 years is a long time!"

"Yeah but then I have my residency which is between 5 and 7 years depending on what I want to specialize in. If it's surgery like I want to do now, it will be 7."

"14 years of school? That's insane!" Zoe laughed.

"Yeah it is but residency isn't really like school."

"Aren't you scared about being in a long distance relationship for so long?" Zoe sighed.

"I am but we are going to try see each other as much as possible. He's so supportive of all of this but it will be difficult of course. I mean, we see each other every day and live 6 feet from each other so it will be a big adjustment but I love him and he loves me so I'm sure we will make it work. It's not about the distance. People can conquer miles or any sort of obstacle if it's meant to be."

"Very true! Who ever thought you'd have such wisdom!" he said laughing. She rolled her eyes and smacked his arm playfully.

"Hey, Wade. Can I talk to you about something?" Wade looked up from his textbook and smiled.

"Sure AB. What's up?" She sat next to him on the bleachers.

"So what you reading?"

"Tryna study a bit for that Bio quiz before practice starts but it's not happenin'."

"Oh ok. That's cool." AB bounced her knee up and down.

"You wanted to talk to me bout what I'm readin'?"

"Oh no… uh… you know Jake?"

"Yeah, I know Jake."

"Do you maybe think it's possible that he could ever maybe wanna maybe I don't know…"

"Take ya on a date?" Wade finished for her. She blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's possible. Want me to talk to him?"

"No! Maybe just kinda hint but don't make it obvious!"

"Ok, I'll see what I can do." She gave him a grateful smile.

"So finally over George then?"

"Yeah. Took me a while but I'm finally over it and we are finally friends again which is great!"

"I'm glad. I'll try find out stuff from Jake for ya. I better get goin', coach will have my head if I'm late." Wade put his textbook in his bag and ran down the bleachers to where the rest of the team was standing.

"Why were you talking to AB?" George asked when Wade joined them.

"None of your business," Wade said. George frowned at him and Wade shrugged. The coach started giving instructions for their warm up. He looked up at the bleachers and saw Zoe sit down next to AB. He waved at her and she waved back.

"Kinsella! Stop making eyes at your girlfriend and pay attention."

"Sorry, coach," he said sheepishly.

After practice, they were drinking water and clearing up the equipment when Wade walked over to Jake.

"Hey man, you got a minute?" Wade asked.

"Yeah," Jake said.

"What are you, uh, doin' on Friday night?"

"Oh Wade! I've been waitin' for this moment my whole high school career. Finally bein' asked out by the famous Wade Kinsella," Jake gushed, putting his hands over his chest dramatically and batting his eyelashes.

"Shut up!" Wade said, punching his shoulder. "I thought maybe you'd wanna come to Mobile with Zoe and me? We're gonna see some movie Zoe's been talkin' bout for weeks. She says it's meant to be really funny. Got some guy from The Artist in it."

"You want me to be a third wheel on your date?"

"No, I was thinkin' that Zoe could invite Annabeth."

"As in Nass?" Wade nodded.

"Yeah, I could be into that, she's cute," he said after a while.

"Ok, awesome. I'll let you know final details tomorrow. See ya," Wade said, walking off to meet Zoe.

"You got yourself a date, girl!" he said approaching the girls. Zoe looked at him confused.

"Me?"

"No silly, AB."

"With Jake? Really?" AB asked bursting with excitement.

"We're all goin' to movies on Friday night in Mobile."

"Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! What did he say about me?"

"I don' know, I mentioned movies and we made plans." Zoe and AB looked at him, unimpressed.

"Well did he sound excited?"

"I guess," Wade shrugged.

"You guess? So he isn't excited?"

"I don' know. I didn't analyze his every move and word. I ain't a girl!" Zoe rolled her eyes and AB scoffed.

"Well I do appreciate it! Can I come over to your house and get ready, Zoe?"

"Of course! It's gonna be so much fun!"

After a while of chatting, Wade and Zoe made their way back to their houses.

"Thanks for doing that for AB," Zoe said, lacing her fingers with his while they walked home.

"No problem!"

"You know, you're pretty cool. I think I'll keep you around for a while," she teased.

"Aw, I sure do feel special. Only took you a year and a half to realize," he winked at her. She laughed and leaned into his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.

"I love you."

"Love you too Doc."

That Friday, AB came over after school and Zoe helped her pick out an outfit and did her make up for her. At 5:30, they went to sit in the lounge to wait for the guys to arrive. The front door opened and Wade sauntered in like he owned the place.

"Hey Doc!" he said sitting down on the couch next to her, giving her a quick kiss. "Hey AB. You look nice, Jake'll be impressed." AB smiled at him.

"What about me?" Zoe said pouting. He leaned in and kissed her nose.

"You always look perfect! Jake better not be impressed though, I might have to deck him if he is!" Zoe giggled and kissed him again.

"You two are so cute, it makes me sick!" AB said. Zoe blushed and sat back, leaning against Wade's chest. A few minutes later, the door bell rang and Zoe went to let Jake in. After a few awkward minutes, the teens made their way to Wade's car. Zoe sat in the front seat. The conversation in the car flowed, Jake and AB seemingly over the awkwardness in the house. Once there, Wade paid for Zoe's ticket as he always did and Jake paid for AB. They bought snacks and made their way into the theatre. AB and Zoe sat next to each other with the guys on either side of them.

"Hey," Jake whispered to AB about half an hour into the movie. She turned to him and smiled.

"This movie is so borin'!" She nodded in agreement. "Wade never told me it was in French!"

"I'm not sure he knew," she whispered back with a laugh. She pointed to him and Jake laughed. Wade was passed out and Zoe was too into the movie to notice.

"You wanna go outside? Talk?" Jake asked. AB nodded and they both stood up. He held out his hand for her and she took it. Zoe turned to see them scooting out of their row.

"Wade! Look! It's going well!" she said turning to him. She looked at her sleeping boyfriend with an annoyed look. She poked his stomach and he startled awake. He looked at her and she had her arms folded across her chest.

"You fell asleep!"

"This movie is borin' Doc! If I wanted to read, I'd buy a book not see some movie in a language I don' understand." He looked around. "We are literally the only people in the theatre. That's gotta tell you somethin'!"

"It tells me that the people of Alabama don't know good entertainment!" He gave her an unimpressed look. "It's not my fault you people only like movies made by Michael Bay."

"Ooh, zinger!"

"I bet you'd enjoy this if you actually gave it a chance!"

"Fine! I am only willin' to sit through this cause I love you." She gave him a victorious smile and settled into his chest, going back to watching the movie. He pulled away and lifted her chin, kissing her gently. She went back to watching the movie after a minute but couldn't concentrate, his kisses always leaving her head spinning. She kissed him this time and they spent the rest of the movie making out like two kids on their first date.

"How was the movie?" AB asked when Zoe and Wade left the theatre, meeting them outside.

"It was really good. Both leads were so good." AB took in Zoe's her swollen lips and Wade's mussed up hair.

"What was your favorite part?"

"Uh… the end."

"How did it end?"

"You know, happily ever after and whatever."

"Mmhmm… why are your lips swollen?" AB asked. Zoe blushed.

"Why are your lips swollen?" Zoe countered. It was AB's turn to blush. Wade and Jake looked at each other and laughed at their women.

They went to have dinner at a nearby restaurant and Zoe was happy to see AB and Jake obviously getting on really well. It had been a while since AB looked so happy and it was good to see her move on from George. When they got back to Zoe's house, Jake offered to drive AB home. Zoe and Wade gave each other knowing smiles and said good bye to the blossoming couple.

A few weeks later, AB and Jake were officially dating and George was walking around town like someone killed his puppy.

"What can I get you Tucker?" Wade asked one afternoon when George was sitting in the Rammer Jammer looking particularly down.

"A cure for love," George said miserably. Wade looked grossed out and sat down at the table.

"I thought you moved on? What happened to Daisy?"

"Yeah, Daisy's fine but she's not AB. AB is so smart and beautiful and now she's with Jake."

"Did you expect her to sit around for months pining while you flirted with every girl in town?" George scowled at him.

"I know you don' wanna hear it but it's the truth."

"I know," George sighed but then suddenly lit up. "But on the bright side, Jake is going to NYU so I might get my chance once we all go off to 'Bama!" Wade laughed at George and patted him on the back.

"I thought you and her were just friends again anyhow?"

"We are but I still have feelings for her. Turns out seeing her with someone else made me realize it."

"It'll all work out. If it's meant to be, it'll be."

"You've been watching way too many chick flicks dude! You're all soppy." Wade shrugged.

"Zoe likes them and I ain' gonna complain. She's always very grateful when I let her choose the movie," he said with a wink.

"I did not need to know that!" Wade laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta get back to work, you know what you gettin' yet?" George ordered and Wade went back to work.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's note: I know it's been ages. I'm sorry! I knew where I wanted to go with this story I just didn't really know how to write it. Anyway, this is the 2****nd ****last chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

Zoe was all packed and ready to start her new life in Atlanta. She was sitting on her bed, her room feeling rather empty. She was leaving everything as is but packed up all the personal things that made her room her own. All the photos she had taken over the past two years were packed into boxes, all of Wade's letters were safely at the bottom of her suitcase. She got up and walked over to her bay window and sat down, looking into Wade's room. He was coming over in about an hour to help her put her stuff in the car and then they were driving together to Emory to unpack and get her all set up.

"Hey Cowboy," she called, seeing him lying on his bed. He sat up and smiled at her.

"You all packed up?" he asked, walking to the window.

"Yup! Feels so weird."

"It's gonna be weird not havin' you right next door," he said. She nodded and her eyes filled with tears. "Baby, please don' cry."

"I can't help it. Maybe I'm making a mistake. Maybe I should just go to 'Bama with everyone else. I'd be closer to you that way."

"No! Zoe, this is your dream. You already gave up Johns Hopkins to be closer. 6 hours is nothing!"

"But it's so many years! Maybe I don't even want to be a doctor."

"Hey, stop that! 14 years? Pssh, that's nothing! It'll fly by, you'll see! Before you know it, you'll be graduating and then you'll be doin' that residency thing and then in the blink of an eye, you'll be a supersonic space surgeon," he said with a smirk. She pouted but then smiled slightly.

"I guess."

"You know I'm right, come on Zo. You can do this! You have so many people rootin' for you."

"I know. It'll be fine," she said with a resigned smile.

"Not quite as optimistic as I hoped but that's the spirit."

"I'm gonna go spend some time with my dad before we go. I'll see you later?"

"Yup, I'll be over in about 45 minutes."

Zoe went downstairs and found Harley sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.

"Hi Dad," she said softly.

"Are you all packed and ready to go?" She nodded and sat down next to him. She took his hand in hers.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. Who would have thought two years ago you'd be reluctant to leave." She laughed.

"I know, it's crazy how much I grew to love this town and everyone in it!"

"You'll be back so often though. What did you and Wade decide about visiting?"

"He'll come see me one weekend a month and I'll be back in Bluebell one weekend a month."

"See, it'll be like you aren't even gone."

"You'll come visit too, right?"

"Of course dear! As often as I can with the practice."

They sat and spoke until Wade came over to pack the car. Once everything was packed, Harley pulled Zoe in for a hug.

"I love you Dad," she said crying.

"I love you too Zoe. Call me when you get there and Wade and I will drive up in two weeks in separate cars to drop you car off." She nodded and kissed him on the cheek and got in the car. Wade took her hand in his and she rested her head on his shoulder. Once the house was out of view, Wade pulled the car over and undid his safety belt. He drew Zoe into a hug and she cried into his shirt while he rubbed soothing circles on her back. Once she had calmed down, he got back on the road.

XXX

"Remind me to get a room on the ground floor next year," Zoe whined as she walked up the stairs for the 10th time that day.

"Why are you moanin'? I'm the one carrying all the heavy boxes!" Wade said behind her.

"And I love you for it," she said turning around flashing him her best smile.

"As much as I love lookin' at that smile, if we don' keep walkin' my arms might fall off!" he said and started back up the stairs.

After another 5 trips, all of Zoe's stuff was in her room and they started with the unpacking. Wade wasn't much help because he kept going through all her underwear passing crude comments while she tried to get everything sorted. She had to stop him from stuffing one of her panties into his pocket several times.

That night, they got Chinese food delivered and sat on the floor eating it.

"When does your roommate get here?" Wade asked with his mouth full of noodles.

"You're a pig," she said laughing. "I'm not sure, I'm guessing within the next few days."

"So not tonight?" Wade asked, waggling his eyebrows, putting his chopsticks down.

"No, not tonight," she replied crawling towards him. He kissed her and things quickly got heated, clothes flying every which way.

"Your bed is too small!" Wade moaned later that night, trying to get comfortable. Zoe was lying with her head on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. Even though they were pressed tightly together, there was barely any space. He shifted to get a bit more comfortable but ended up falling out of the bed.

"Ow!" he moaned. She burst out laughing and sat up.

"This reminds me of the first time we ever shared a bed. Remember?"

"Yeah, the next mornin' I was ticklin' you and Harley saw us and you got such a fright, you fell on your butt," Wade reminisced.

"Things were so different then," Zoe said, helping Wade back into the bed.

"Yeah, they really were. I prefer how they are now though," Wade said, pulling her back into his chest.

"Me too. I love you Wade."

"Love you too Doc," he said, kissing the top of her head.

The next morning, they were standing at the door of Zoe's room, wrapped in each other's arms.

"Do you really have to go?" Zoe whined.

"I gotta get back in time for work Baby," he said into her hair.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said, tears making his shirt wet.

"Me too Zo. But I'll see you in 2 weeks." He lifted her chin and kissed away all the tears that were on her blotchy cheeks.

"I'm proud of you Doc."

"You'll be there with me the whole time?"

"I'll be back in Bluebell waitin' for you to make me a kept man with your big fancy surgeon salary," Wade said, earning a laugh from his girlfriend.

"Promise?"

"Always," he said. He kissed her intensely before reluctantly letting her go and walking to the car.

XXX

Wade was right, the time flew by. Before Zoe knew it, her first year was done and she was heading back to Bluebell for the summer. Without fail, they saw each other twice a month, even if it was just for a day. Zoe was loving Pre-Med and made a ton of friends who had the same interests as her. They all loved Wade when they met him. Zoe and Lavon called each other once a week to hear all about what was going on in their lives and she would hear from Lemon and AB every few weeks. When she got home, Harley wasn't home so she made her way to the Rammer Jammer to see Wade. When she walked in, she saw AB, George, Lavon and Lemon sitting at their regular booth. She looked around but couldn't see Wade.

"Hey guys!" Zoe said enthusiastically.

"Zoe!" they all bellowed, jumping up and giving her a hug one at a time.

"Still haven't grown I see," Lavon teased, ruffling her hair and Zoe smacked his chest laughing. They all sat back down at the booth and Zoe sat at a chair next to the table. She couldn't keep up with all their questions but noticed that AB and George were holding hands. She had last spoken to AB 2 months ago and she was single after ending things with Jake after he cheated on her. She made a mental note to organize a girl's night and find out all the details.

Zoe was laughing with her friends when she felt a pair of warm lips against her neck. She turned around and wrapped her arms around Wade's neck.

"Hi," she breathed into his mouth.

"Hey yourself," he responded, kissing her passionately, making their friends feel awkward.

"Didn't you two see each other 2 weeks ago?" Lemon asked with disgust.

"So?" Wade asked pulling up a chair, throwing a cloth he had been using to wipe down glasses over his shoulder. He laced his fingers with Zoe's.

"So do you have to make us lose our appetites with that inappropriate display of affection?"

"It's a lot more fun when I know you're gettin' grossed out," Wade said with a smirk. Lemon rolled her eyes. "Besides, you see your boyfriend every day. You'll be the same when he goes off to the NFL and you don' see him for weeks."

"I doubt it. I have control, unlike some people."

"Hey! What about me?" Zoe said, offended.

"You have less control than he does," AB said with a laugh. The group nodded in agreement.

XXX

"It is so good to spend time with you girls again! I've missed you so much!" Zoe said as her, Lemon and AB sat down at their table at a new restaurant in Mobile.

"We've missed you Zoe! It's not quite the same not having you and Wade there with us," AB said.

"Didn't help that none of you guys came back for Spring break!" Zoe complained.

"Well you didn't come back for Winter break, you could have seen us then!" Lemon responded.

"I know, but Harley and Earl came through with Wade and it was really nice. Earl needed to be out of town for Christmas, especially with it being such a bad time memory wise for him and Wade," Zoe explained. "So tell me how you and George happened again AB?" AB blushed and gave her a big smile.

"So you know Jake cheated on me," she started and Zoe nodded. "A few weeks later, there was this party at our sorority and George was there, obviously. I was upset over Jake because he came with his new girlfriend so I got a little bit drunk. George looked after me and made sure I was ok, he stayed with me that night and the next morning we got to speaking. We went on a few dates after that we started officially dating again 2 weeks ago."

"I'm happy for you AB! How's things with Lavon, Lemon?"

"They are ok, he's so busy with football and he's basically at practice every day and all weekend when he's not at away games. It's been an adjustment."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

"So things with you and Wade are obviously still good?" Zoe smiled before she responded.

"They are; I didn't think it would be this easy. We make time for each other and talk as often as we can. At first, it was hard but now, we are so used to it, it has kind of become normal. I know he sometimes wishes he could be off at college with everyone and has some resentment to his dad because he feels stuck but we are really good. I think the fact that we made it through our first year apart means that it'll all be ok for the rest of my studies."

The ordered their meals and spent the rest of the night chatting and catching up. Zoe's new friends at college were great but none could compare to the ones she made in Bluebell and she knew they would be friends for life.

Zoe spent the rest of the summer helping out in the practice and juggling time with her friends and Wade. Every night was the same as it was when she still lived in Bluebell, ending with her and Wade talking for hours through their windows. At the end of the summer, Wade drove up to Emory with Zoe and helped her unpack her stuff into her new room, this time one that was on the ground floor.

"I'll see you in two weeks?" Wade asked, standing in her small lounge.

"As always," she responded with a smile, wrapping her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat.

"I hate this part," Wade said softly.

"Me too, I wonder if the goodbyes are ever going to get easier."

"I hope they don't. I don't want it to ever be easy to leave you," he confessed shyly. She blushed and kissed him softly.

"I love you Doc," he breathed when they pulled away.

"I love you too. Now go before I don't let you. Wally will kill me if you are late for work!" Wade laughed and kissed her one more time before exiting the room to make the long drive back.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's note: So this is the last chapter. I hope you have enjoyed this story, I have enjoyed writing it. Just a reminder, I have no idea how med school works, especially in the US (I am not American) so all the talk of clinic hours and stuff is all made up, don't hate me for inaccuracies! Hoping to write some more stories over and above my other one, Chance Encounter. But with the show ending its 4****th**** (and possibly final) season soon, I don't want to start something that won't be finished or almost finished by end of March. Thanks for all the reviews, faves and follows. Means a lot to me! Enjoy! **

**PS I reread this story to make sure I had everything tied together and I realized in chapter 26, I said Jake was going to NYU and then in the last chapter he was at the same college as AB and George. Oops. So let's just say he decided on 'Bama in the end but we never saw his decision because he is not important to the story.**

Zoe walked into her apartment, tired after a long day and gasped. There were rose petals everywhere and she turned to see Wade walking into the lounge from the kitchen.

"What are you…? When did you…?" she spluttered.

"Happy Valentine's Day Zo," he said with a smirk.

"You said you had to work!" she said, walking up to him and smacking his chest.

"Yeah, I lied. Didn' wanna ruin the surprise." She beamed up at him, not saying anything.

"Come here," he said, pulling her into him. Their lips met and Zoe sighed in contentment. She hadn't seen him in 6 weeks, something always coming up. Now that she was in her first year of medical school, her work load was a lot more and she was doing more practical work meaning her hours were more intense. Wade was bartending now full time at the Rammer Jammer so it was difficult for him to get weekends off.

"It's so good to see you again! 6 weeks is way too long!" she moaned when they pulled away.

"Never again!" he said kissing her again, more passionately. She nodded, opening her mouth to him. He backed her towards the bedroom, removing his shoes as he went, never letting his lips leave hers. Not looking where they were going, they stumbled slightly and laughed into each other. Wade picked Zoe up and she wrapped her legs around his hips, dropping her shoes off. Throwing her down onto the bed, he stood up and looked at her lying there with her hair flared out under her. He climbed onto the bed and his hands made their way under her shirt while his lips brushed against her neck.

"That was a really good surprise," Zoe said laughing, lying in bed later that night. She leaned over him to grab a piece of pizza that they had ordered after round two. "I love not having a roommate! Pizza in bed with no one judging me!"

"Who says I'm not judgin'?" Wade said, picking up his own piece.

"Cause it was your idea!" she giggled.

"True," he said, chuckling.

"How long are you here for?" she asked.

"Only tonight, gotta work tomorrow."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. He fiddled absent-mindedly with the necklace she was wearing. It was the one that belonged to his momma that he gave to her for their first Christmas. She had never taken it off.

"I'm sorry Doc. But I got next weekend off. How bout I come through Friday, leave Monday mornin'?"

"I have clinic hours but if you don't mind hanging out here during the day, we can have the nights together."

"I'll take 3 nights with you over not seeing you at all, Doc."

"Good cause if you had said no, I probably would have punched you!"

"I'm so scared. Your teeny hands could do such damage," he teased. She pouted and he kissed her lightly causing her to smile.

XXX

"What do you mean you aren't coming this weekend?" Zoe shouted into the phone, walking across campus to her next class.

"I have to work Doc. I tried to get off but Wally's desperate. Chester broke his leg so he's outta commission for the next couple of weeks."

"I haven't seen you in 3 months," she whined.

"I know. But that's only partly my fault."

"What is that supposed to me?"

"It means you haven' made much of an effort to come back here."

"I'm busy Wade! I am in my final year of med school!"

"And what? I'm not busy?"

"You just don't understand. You would understand it if you…" she stopped abruptly.

"If I what? Went to college? Had a 'real' job instead of bein' jus' a bartender?" She could hear the anger in his voice.

"That came out wrong. Wade…" He cut her off.

"No Zoe. I get it. Why would I understand? I'm jus' a small town hick with a drunk as a dad."

"Wade, come on. You know that's not what I meant."

"I gotta go Zoe. Have to get back to my pathetic little job." He hung up and Zoe slumped down onto the floor and sobbed.

That night, Wade and Meatball were writing songs at Wade's place. He had moved out of Earl's house a year ago into a small place near the Rammer Jammer.

"Let's write a song about beer!" Meatball suggested.

"I love beer!" Wade slurred. There were at least 20 empty bottles scattered on the floor. Meatball played an out of tune chord and started singing off key while Wade took another swig of his beer. There was a knock on the door and Wade got up to open it, Meatball not stopping with the music.

"Zoe?" he said, seeing his girlfriend of almost 9 years standing there. Her cheeks were tear-stained and she was soaking wet from the rain. Seeing her sobered him up awfully quickly.

"You are not a small town hick!" she said before standing on her toes, pressing her lips to his. She could taste the generic beer. "And even if you are, you are MY small town hick," she insisted once she pulled away.

Wade walked inside, pulling her by the hand and kicked Meatball out. He cleaned up while Zoe changed into one of his shirts to get dry. When she was done, they sat on the couch.

"I feel really bad for what I said," she said after what felt like forever. She put her hand on his knee.

"You were right, you know, I never look forward to going into work. And I hear you talkin' about your classes and what you learn and I get a bit jealous sometimes. But I've been workin' on somethin' for a while." He got up and went into his bedroom. He came out holding a thick folder and handed it to her. She flipped through it quickly.

"Plans for a bar?" she asked. He pressed his lips together and looked at her, nodding slightly, scared of what she would think.

"Wade, I think that's a great idea!"

"You do?" he asked sounding surprised.

"Of course!" She smiled at him and kissed him tenderly.

"We have to make more effort Zoe. We were so good about seein' each other regularly for so long!"

"I agree. It's going to be hard with my residency. My hours will be crazy, I'll be working late nights."

"Luckily, my job also entails late nights," he joked. She laughed lightly and snuggled into his chest.

"We have to promise to see each other at least once a month. Ok? Three months is too long!"

"I can do that, Zo. We practically made it through 7 years of med school. Jus' 2 months to go. We can do 7 years of residency easy."

"Actually, it's 5."

"5? I thought Cardio whatever surgery was 7?"

"It is but I decided I want to be a general surgeon. And that's only 5." Wade smiled at her before kissing her slowly, running his hands through her hair.

XXX

"Are you sure you want this?" Harley asked, taking a box out of her car.

"Dad! I am sure!" she insisted.

"Cause you know I can find someone else."

"Dad, would you stop! Brick is moving to Florida with Shelby. You cannot run this practice alone. I want to be here."

"But you worked so hard these last 5 years. Or actually, these last 12 years to become a general surgeon and now you are giving it up for family medicine. Why?"

"One, because I love you and I want to help and two, I can still use what I learned. We can even expand the practice and not have to rely on the hospital in Mobile so much. I mean we have AB as the nurse."

"Ok, thank you Zoe. This means so much to me. Working with my daughter is a dream come true." Zoe smiled at him and pulled him in for a hug. "And you don't want to move back home?" he asked, looking up at the Carriage House.

"Dad, I'm 31 years old. I don't want to live with my father!"

"I just don't think I like the idea of you living next door to Wade without supervision." Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Do I need to remind you that I'm 31? Besides, he's a responsible young man. A business owner even."

"I know, I know. He really has turned the Rammer Jammer into something special," Harley said pausing to look over at the Gate House. "But he will obviously be sleeping over most nights. Which I don't like."

"You are so old fashioned! Besides, if I was living with you, he would still be sleeping over. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to see him walk around your house naked."

"I really did not need to know that, dear." Zoe snorted a laugh and shrugged. Harley helped her unload the rest of her boxes and left her alone. There was a knock on the door and Zoe opened it to see Lavon standing there.

"Mayor Hayes!" she said, jumping into his arms.

"Woah there Big Z," he guffawed as he put her down and walked into her place.

"Thanks for letting me stay in your Carriage House, Lavon," she said, adjusting the framed picture of her and Wade from her graduation on her coffee table before sitting down on her new couch. He and Harley had been in the front row, cheering louder than anyone when she gave her speech.

"No problem. Tell me though, why are you not living with Wade when he's practically gonna be living here anyway?"

"Cause have you been into that Gate House lately? It smells like boy!" she moaned, wrinkling her nose and Lavon laughed, shaking his head. "Besides, it's fun having Wade be the boy next door."

"Ain't that the truth," a voice said from the doorway. Zoe looked at Wade standing there and smiled at him. He made his way to the couch and sat on the other end of Zoe. She leaned back into his chest and Lavon stayed for a while longer talking to them before he went to make them dinner.

"Sorry I wasn' here to help you unload the boxes. Had an emergency at the bar."

"I have a feeling that emergency was that you didn't want to carry heavy boxes," she laughed.

"Might have been," he said with a cheeky smile. She sat up and looked at him, taking his hands in hers.

"This feels unreal," she laughed. "Feels like I'll be driving back to Atlanta in a few days."

"There is no way I'm lettin' that happen! 12 years is long enough!"

"That's for sure." She leaned in and kissed him.

"What do you say we christen your new bed," Wade said with a wink.

"Ever the romantic," Zoe giggled and kissed him again. "I'll race you," she said jumping up and running to her bedroom.

XXX

"I thought I got out of carrying the heavy boxes when you moved into this place!" Wade complained, dropping the final box down onto the floor, wiping his brow.

"You were the one that wanted to move in after only 2 months of living next door to each other."

"I thought we both wanted that," Wade said sticking his lip out and pouting. Zoe laughed and rolled her eyes playfully, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We do!" she assured him, pulling him down to kiss him.

"I love you Doc," he said kissing her again.

"Promise?"

"Always."

**Author's note: There we go. Hope you enjoyed this story! Let me know what you thought of the last chapter! Thanks for reading!**


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